Senator Tom Coburn Critical Of Federal Spending In Oklahoma

NewsOn6.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Tom Coburn has turned an eye to his home state of Oklahoma as he continues looking for ways to cut the federal deficit.

Coburn introduced a report "exposing wasteful government spending" that questions the merit of more than 30 programs in the Sooner state that cost taxpayers at least $170 million, according to a news release.

The report is called "Exposing Washington's Wasteful Spending Habits in our Own Backyard."

"The size and scope of the federal government will never be trimmed if we choose to ignore or continue to defend lower priority projects simply because of the financial benefit to our own states," Dr. Coburn said.

The report includes the following spending programs:

• $85,000 provided by the Bureau of Indian Education for Disney World tickets, video dance programs, movie passes, and other activities 
• $18 million each year to maintain buildings that federal agencies are no longer using
• $300,000 for a goat containment testing center
• $16 million for new sidewalks in small towns to satisfy federal regulations

Read Senator Tom Coburn's report on spending in Oklahoma