Senator Coburn Backing Bailout

By Emory Bryan, The News On 6

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Senate is debating the Wall Street bailout bill.  The Senate revised what the House rejected on Monday.  Oklahoma's two senators are divided on the bailout.

There is wide support in the Senate for the bailout, but that's what everybody thought about the House before members of Congress voted it down.

In Oklahoma, the people seem to be against it, and it's put the two U.S. Senators on opposite sides of the issue.

Since the debate started on the original bailout, more than a thousand people have called Senator Jim Inhofe's office.  Just Tuesday and Wednesday, hundreds of people called and by more than 10 to 1, callers are against it.

Senator Inhofe, who is facing re-election, plans to vote against it.

His position is the opposite of Senator Tom Coburn, who doesn't like the bill, but says it has to pass.

"The bottom line is that we're in recession and if Congress doesn't do something to help, it's going to be much worse than a recession," said Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn.

Coburn's calls are running against it, too, but he says most people don't realize what's at stake.

"This problem is worse than most people recognize.  It will penetrate further into the economy than most people realize.  It will put your job, your home, your savings, and your kids' college education at risk," said Senator Tom Coburn.

Senator Coburn says the true cost will be between $50 billion and $80 billion, not the $700 billion figure that covers the full cost of buying out the companies.  He blames the problem on the lack of oversight by Congress.

"If I thought it was going to cost $700 billion, there's no way I would support it," said Senator Tom Coburn.  "Congress failed to do what it's supposed to do, failed to do oversight and hold agencies accountable and now we have a big economic mess.  But, the option of not doing something will have major catastrophic effects on Oklahomans and everybody in this country."    

Coburn says once the bailout goes through, the country won't know for six to nine months whether or not it's working.