Tom Coburn

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Tom Coburn
United States Senator from Oklahoma
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2005 Serving with Jim Inhofe
Preceded by	Don Nickles
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 2nd district
In office January 4, 1995 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Mike Synar
Succeeded by	Brad Carson
Born	March 14, 1948 (1948-03-14) (age 61) Casper, Wyoming
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Carolyn Coburn
Children	Callie Coburn Katie Coburn Sarah Coburn
Residence	Muskogee, Oklahoma
Alma mater	Oklahoma State University
Occupation	physician/politician
Religion	Southern Baptist

Oklahoma

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Oklahoma

Constitution United States Constitution Oklahoma Constitution Executive Government Governor: Brad Henry Lieutentant Governor: Jari Askins Secretary of State: M. Susan Savage State Auditor: Steve Burrage Attorney General: Drew Edmondson State Treasurer: Scott Meacham State School Superintendent: Sandy Garrett Labor Commissioner: Lloyd Fields Insurance Commissioner: Kim Holland Corporation Commission State Cabinet and State Agencies Legislature Legislature: 52nd Senate President of the Senate: Jari Askins President pro tempore: Glenn Coffee House of Representatives Speaker of the House: Chris Benge Judiciary Court System Supreme Court Court of Criminal Appeals Court of Civil Appeals Court on the Judiciary Court of Impeachment Nominating Commission Elections Elections State Election Board Last election Political parties Democratic Party Republican Party Political party strength Divisions Counties Cities and Towns Federal Relations Federal representation Senate Jim Inhofe (R) Tom Coburn (R) House of Representatives 1: John Sullivan (R) 2: Dan Boren (D) 3: Frank Lucas (R) 4: Tom Cole (R) 5: Mary Fallin (R) Politics of the United States

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Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. (born March 14, 1948), is an American politician and medical doctor. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. Coburn was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 as part of the "Republican Revolution." He declined to run for re-election in 2000, but re-entered the political arena in 2004 to run for Senate. Coburn is a staunch conservative, known for views opposing pork barrel projects, supporting term limits, and holding a pro-life position with regards to abortion.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Political career 2.1 House career 2.2 Senate career 2.2.1 Committee assignments 3 Political positions 3.1 Iraq War appropriations 3.2 Abortion 3.3 Fiscal conservatism 3.4 Presidential nominations 3.5 Tobacco 3.6 Gun rights 4 Controversies 4.1 Allegations of non-consensual sterilization and Medicaid fraud 4.2 Roberts confirmation hearings 4.3 Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007 4.4 Schindler's List television broadcast 4.5 Use of Senatorial 'hold' privilege 4.5.1 Rachel Carson commemoration 4.5.2 Advancing America's Priorities Act 4.5.3 Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act 4.5.4 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act 5 Personal life 6 Electoral history 7 Footnotes 8 External links

[edit] Early life and career

Coburn was born in Casper, Wyoming to Anita Joy Allen and Orin Wesley Coburn,^[1] and graduated with a B.S. in accounting from Oklahoma State University, where he was also a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. In 1968, he married Carolyn Denton; their three daughters are Callie, Katie, and Sarah. After recovering from a case of malignant melanoma Coburn pursued a medical doctorate and graduated from the University of Oklahoma Medical School in 1983. He then opened a medical practice in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and served as a deacon in a Southern Baptist Church. Coburn is one of only two licensed doctors currently serving in the US Senate. During his career in obstetrics, he has treated over 15,000 patients and delivered 4,000 babies and was subject to one malpractice lawsuit.^[2][3]

In 1994 he ran for the House of Representatives in Oklahoma's Democratic 2nd Congressional District, which was based in Muskogee and included 22 counties in northeastern Oklahoma. Coburn initially expected to face eight-term incumbent Mike Synar. However, Synar was defeated in a runoff for the Democratic nomination by a 71-year-old retired principal, Virgil Cooper. According to Coburn's book Breach of Trust, Coburn and Cooper got along very well and both had a dislike for the liberal Mike Synar. The general election was very cordial since both men knew Synar would not be returning to Washington regardless of the outcome. Coburn won by a 52%–48% margin, becoming the first Republican to represent the district since 1921.

[edit] Political career

[edit] House career

Coburn was one of the most conservative members of the House. He supported "reducing the size of the federal budget" and opposed abortion and supported the proposed V-chip legislation.

Despite representing a heavily Democratic district, Coburn was reelected in 1996 (even as Bill Clinton easily carried the district) and 1998 without difficulty.^[4][5]

While he served in the House, he earned a reputation as a "maverick" due to his frequent battles with House Speaker Newt Gingrich.^{[citation needed]} Most of these stand-offs stemmed from his belief that the Republican caucus was moving toward the political left and away from the more conservative "Contract With America" policy proposals that had placed the Republicans into power in Congress in 1994 for the first time in 40 years. Specifically, Coburn was concerned that the Contract's term limits had not been implemented, and that the Republicans were continuing the excessive federal spending that they had so vigorously opposed when the Democrats were in the majority.^{[citation needed]}

Coburn endorsed conservative activist and former diplomat Alan Keyes in the 2000 Republican presidential primaries, although he supported George W. Bush after the nomination was sewn up. Coburn's congressional district returned to the Democratic fold, as attorney Brad Carson easily defeated a Republican endorsed by Coburn. After leaving the House and returning to private medical practice, Coburn wrote a book in 2003, with ghostwriter John Hart^{[citation needed]}, about his experiences in Congress called Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders. The book detailed Coburn's perspective on the internal Republican Party debates over the "Contract With America" and displayed his disdain for career politicians. Some of the figures he criticized (such as Gingrich) were already out of office at the time of publishing, but others (such as former House Speaker Dennis Hastert) remained very influential in Congress, which resulted in speculation that some congressional Republicans wanted no part of Coburn's return to politics.

[edit] Senate career

In 2004, Coburn chose to challenge the establishment Republican candidate for the open Senate seat being vacated by Don Nickles. Former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys (the favorite of the state and national Republican establishment) and Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony joined the field before Coburn. However, Coburn easily won the primary with 61% of the vote to Humphreys's 25%. In the general election, he faced Brad Carson, a Democrat who had succeeded him in the 2nd District and was giving up his seat after only two terms. During the Senate campaign, Coburn said that the "homosexual agenda" was the biggest threat to American freedom.^[6]

Coburn emphasized fighting "pork" and "corruption" in Washington. His focus on "cutting spending" and his reputation for fighting the practice of awarding federal dollars to "special interest causes" won him many supporters who disagreed with him on other issues.

He also promised to maintain his medical practice in Muskogee and return there during the weekend as he had while serving in the House.

In the election, Coburn won by a margin of 53% to Carson's 42%. While Carson routed Coburn in the heavily Democratic 2nd District, Coburn swamped Carson in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and the closer-in Tulsa suburbs. Coburn won the state's two largest counties, Tulsa and Oklahoma, by a combined 86,000 votes — more than half of his overall margin of 166,000 votes.

Coburn's Senate voting record is as conservative as his House record. He received a perfect 100% rating from the American Conservative Union for the year 2005. Coburn has a reputation for stalling measures in the Senate, to the chagrin of members of both major parties and many people outside of Oklahoma.^[7]

[edit] Committee assignments

After taking office in January 2005, Coburn, along with fellow conservative Sam Brownback, was selected to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Coburn is a rare non-attorney on the Judiciary Committee.

On April 19, 2007, Coburn became the first Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to call for the firing of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as a result of the controversy concerning the dismissal of eight United States Attorneys.^[8][9]

Senator Coburn is a member of the following committees:

• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security
  • Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Acting Ranking Member)
  • Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on the Constitution(Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
• Committee on Indian Affairs
• Select Committee on Intelligence

Since April 2007, Senator Coburn has been holding the Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act (S.274) from becoming law. This bill relates to so-called "whistleblowing," and would effectively reverse the Supreme Court's decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos, 04-473^[10]. (Coburn has also placed a hold on final Senate consideration of a measure passed by the House in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings to improve state performance in checking the federal watch list of gun buyers.^[11])

[edit] Political positions

[edit] Iraq War appropriations

On May 24, 2007 the US Senate voted 80-14 to fund the war in Iraq. Coburn voted nay.^[12] On October 1, 2007 the US Senate voted 92-3 to fund the war in Iraq. Coburn voted nay.^[13] In February 2008, Coburn said, "I will tell you personally that I think it was probably a mistake going to Iraq."^[14]

[edit] Abortion

Coburn is pro-life and opposes abortion even in cases of rape. In 2000, Coburn sponsored a bill to prevent the Food and Drug Administration from developing, testing or approving the abortifacient RU-486. On July 13, the bill failed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 182 to 187.^[15] On the issue, Coburn sparked controversy with his remark, "I favor the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life."^[16] He noted that his great-grandmother was raped by a sheriff^[17] and in the U.S. Senate confirmation hearings concerning Samuel Alito, said his grandmother was a product of that rape.

[edit] Fiscal conservatism

In October 2005, Coburn, a staunch fiscal conservative, made several attempts to combat pork barrel spending in the federal budget. The best-known of these was an amendment to the fiscal 2006 appropriations bill that funds transportation projects.^[18] Coburn's amendment would have transferred funding from the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska to rebuild Louisiana's "Twin Spans" bridge, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The amendment was defeated in the Senate, 82-14, after Ted Stevens, the senior senator from Alaska, threatened to resign his office if the amendment was passed. Coburn's actions did result in getting the funds made into a more politically feasible block grant to the State of Alaska, which can use the funds for the bridge or other projects.

Coburn is also a member of the Fiscal Watch Team, a group of seven senators led by John McCain, whose stated goal is to combat "wasteful government spending".^[19]

On April 6, 2006, Coburn and Senators Barack Obama, Thomas Carper and John McCain introduced ^[20] the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. The bill would require the full disclosure of all entities or organizations receiving federal funds beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2007 on a website maintained by the Office of Management and Budget. The bill was signed into law on September 26, 2006.

Coburn and McCain recently noted that the practice of members of Congress adding earmarks (and thus, increasing government spending) has risen dramatically over the years, from 121 "earmarks" in 1987 to 15,268 earmarks in 2005, according to the Congressional Research Service.

In July 2007, Coburn criticized pork barrel spending fellow Senator Ben Nelson had inserted into the 2007 defense spending bill. Coburn alleged that the earmarks would benefit Nelson's son Patrick's employer with millions in federal dollars and that the situation violated terms of the Transparency Act, which was passed by the Senate but had not yet been voted on in the House. Nelson's spokesperson said the Senator did nothing wrong.^[21] At that time, newspapers in Nebraska and Oklahoma noted that Coburn failed to blast very similar earmarks that benefited Oklahoma. ^[22]

In 1997, Coburn introduced a bill called the HIV Prevention Act of 1997, which would have amended the Social Security Act. The bill would have required confidential notification of HIV exposure to the sexual partners of those diagnosed with HIV along with counseling and testing.^[23] The bill was endorsed by the American Medical Association and had over 100 co-sponsors. Coburn also offered an amendment that would have prohibited insurance companies from discriminating against someone who was tested for HIV, regardless of the result, and introduced a bill to expand AIDS coverage for those enrolled in Medicare. He was the primary House sponsor of the 2000 Ryan White CARE Act reauthorization that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

[edit] Presidential nominations

During the administration of George W. Bush, Coburn spoke out against the threat by some Democrats to filibuster nominations to judgeships and executive-branch positions. He took the position that no presidential nomination should ever be filibustered, in light of the wording of the Constitution. Coburn said: "There is a defined charge to the president and the Senate on advice and consent."^[24]

In May 2009 Coburn was the only U.S. Senator to vote against confirmation of Gil Kerlikowske as the Director of the National Drug Control Policy^[25].

[edit] Tobacco

Tom Coburn thinks tobacco should not have additional regulation by the FDA in addition to the current ATF oversight.

According to the Tulsa World and other sources ^{[26] [27] [28]}

"Tom Coburn is consistent in his free market philosophy and in his strict reading of what Congress can and can't do."

"Beyond the fact that a federal ban on tobacco would go against Coburn's basic philosophy, is the fact, that he was debating against the bill (to allow the FDA to regulate tobacco) in the first place."

"If you put the regulation of tobacco under the control of the FDA, which is charged with regulating the safe and efficacious use of drugs, you could well be setting up a ban of tobacco."

"There is no safe, efficacious use of tobacco after all. That was part of Coburn's point: The backers of the proposal [to put tobacco under the regulation of the Food and Drug Administration] were trying to effect a ban but didn't have the courage to say so. He opposed their legislation, and the implication there should have been clear."

[edit] Gun rights

Regarding the Second Amendment, Coburn believes that it "recognizes the right of individual, law-abiding citizens to own and use firearms", and he opposes "any and all efforts to mandate gun control on law-abiding citizens".^[29] On the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which aimed "...to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other purposes."^[30], Coburn sponsored an amendment that would allow concealed carry of weapons in national parks. The Senate passed that amendment 67-29.^[31]

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Allegations of non-consensual sterilization and Medicaid fraud

A sterilization Coburn performed on a 20-year-old woman in 1990 became what was called "the most incendiary issue" of his Senate campaign.^[32] Coburn performed the sterilization on the woman during an emergency surgery to treat a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy, removing her intact fallopian tube as well as the one damaged by the surgery. The woman sued Coburn, alleging that he did not have consent to sterilize her, while Coburn claimed he had her oral consent. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed with no finding of liability on Coburn's part.

The state attorney general claimed that Coburn committed Medicaid fraud by not reporting the sterilization when he filed a claim for the emergency surgery. Medicaid did not reimburse doctors for sterilization procedures for patients under 21, and according to the attorney general, Coburn would not have been reimbursed at all had he not withheld this information. Coburn says since he did not file a claim for the sterilization, no fraud was committed. No charges were filed against Coburn for this claim.^{[6][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]}

[edit] Roberts confirmation hearings

On September 14, 2005, during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, Coburn began his opening statement with a critique of Beltway partisan politics while, according to news reports, "choking back a sob."^[43] Coburn had earlier been completing a crossword puzzle during the hearings,^[43] and this fact was used by The Daily Show to ridicule Coburn's pathos.^[44] Coburn then began his questioning by discussing the various legal terms mentioned during the previous day's hearings. Proceeding to questions regarding both abortion and end-of-life issues, Coburn, who noted that during his tenure as an obstetrician he had delivered some 4,000 babies, asked Roberts whether the judge agreed with the proposition that "the opposite of being dead is being alive."

“

You know I'm going somewhere. One of the problems I have is coming up with just the common sense and logic that if brain wave and heartbeat signifies life, the absence of them signifies death, then the presence of them certainly signifies life. And to say it otherwise, logically is schizophrenic. And that's how I view a lot of the decisions that have come from the Supreme Court on the issue of abortion.[45]

”

[edit] Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007

Senator Coburn has been in the center of the Bush Administration's struggle with Congress over extending the rights of government whistleblowers. The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to government whistleblowers when, in the case of Garcetti v. Ceballos, 04-473, it ruled that government employees did not have protection from retaliation by their employers under the First Amendment of the Constitution.^[46] The free speech protections of the First Amendment have long been used to shield whistleblowers from retaliation by whistleblower attorneys.

In response to the Supreme Court decision, the House passed H.R. 985, the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007. President George W. Bush, citing national security concerns, promised to veto the bill should it be enacted into law by Congress. The Senate's version of the Whistleblower Protection Act (S. 274) was approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on June 13, 2007. However, it has yet to reach a vote by Senate as a hold has been placed on the bill by Senator Coburn.^[47] Coburn's hold effectively prevents passage of the bill, which has broad bipartisan support in the Senate. According to the National Whistleblower Center, Coburn's hold is an example of a right-wing Senator enacting President Bush's agenda while frustrating a majority.^[48]

Senator Coburn's Web site features a news item about United Nations whistleblower Mathieu Credo Koumoin, a former employee for the U.N. Development Program in West Africa, who has asked U.N. ethics chief Robert Benson for protection under the U.N.'s new whistleblower protection rules.^[49] The Web site has a link to the "United Nations Watch" of the Republican Office of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security, of which he is the ranking minority member.^[50] Coburn's Web site also features a tip line for potential whistleblowers on government waste and fraud.^[51]

[edit] Schindler's List television broadcast

As a congressman in 1997, Coburn protested NBC's plan to air the R-rated Academy Award-winning Holocaust drama Schindler's List during prime time. Coburn stated that, in airing the movie without editing it for television, TV had been taken "to an all-time low, with full-frontal nudity, violence and profanity." He also said the TV broadcast should outrage parents and decent-minded individuals everywhere. Coburn described the airing of Schindler's List on television as "...irresponsible sexual behavior...I cringe when I realize that there were children all across this nation watching this program."

Since the film deals mainly with the Holocaust, many people showed disgust with this statement, including a number of fellow Republican Congressmen who criticized Coburn in their speeches. Coburn apologized after heavy criticisms "to all those I have offended" and clarified that he agreed with the movie being aired on television, but stated that it should have been on later in the evening. In apologizing, Coburn said that at that time of the evening there are still large numbers of children watching without parental supervision, and stated that he stood by his message of protecting children from violence, but had expressed it poorly. He also said, "my intentions were good, but I've obviously made an error in judgment in how I've gone about saying what I wanted to say."

He later wrote in his book Breach of Trust that he considered this one of the biggest mistakes in his life and that, while he still feels the material was unsuitable for an 8 p.m. television broadcast, he handled the situation poorly.

[edit] Use of Senatorial 'hold' privilege

Coburn has used the special hold privilege to prevent several bills from coming to the Senate floor.^[52] The hold privilege is allowed by Rule VII of the Senate Standing Rules.^[53] The practice is generally used to form consensus on questionable legislation and has come under fire for its procedural secrecy.^[54] Coburn has actively exercised the privilege and has earned a reputation as a "fly in the soup" from Republican leadership for his liberal use of the procedural mechanism.^[55]

[edit] Rachel Carson commemoration

On May 23, 2007, Coburn threatened to block two bills honoring the 100th birthday of Rachel Carson. Coburn called Carson's work "junk science", proclaiming that Silent Spring "was the catalyst in the deadly worldwide stigmatization against insecticides, especially DDT."^[56]

[edit] Advancing America's Priorities Act

In response to Senator Coburn's repeated holds on non-controversial legislation, Senator Harry Reid introduced the Advancing America's Priorities Act, S. 3297, in July 2008. S. 3297 combined several bills which Senator Coburn had blocked into what became known as a "Tomnibus" bill, a reference to omnibus bills used combine several individual bills into one piece of legislation.^[57] The bill included health care provisions, new penalties for child pornography, and several natural resources bills.^[58]

[edit] Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act

Coburn also blocked bipartisan-sponsored legislation creating the Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness, which would have protected wild lands in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.^[59] Senator Coburn exercised a one-vote hold on the legislation in both March and November 2008^[60][61]. He has decried the required $10 million for surveying and mapping as wasteful. ^[62] The Mount Hood bill would have been the largest amount of land added to federal protection since 1984.^[63]

[edit] Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

According to The Boston Globe Coburn had blocked passage of the GINA, objecting to provisions in the bill that allow discrimination based on genetic information from embryos and fetuses. Recently, the embryo loophole was closed, and Tom Coburn reevaluated his opposition to the bill.^[64] Senator Coburn had holds on 90 other bills in the 110th Congress. However, he voted in favor of an earlier version of GINA which passed unanimously in the Senate in 2005. By April 2008, Senator Coburn lifted his hold on the bill after some provisions of GINA were changed.

[edit] Personal life

Prior to the 2009 BCS game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators, Coburn made a bet over the outcome of the game with Florida senator Bill Nelson; the loser had to serenade the winner with a song. The Gators defeated the Sooners and Coburn will sing Elton John's Rocket Man to Nelson, a former astronaut.^[65] Even though President Obama and Senator Coburn are nearly opposite in politics, the two of them have are known as friends able to cooperate. ^[66]

[edit] Electoral history

Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district: Results 1994–1998^[67]

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1994		Virgil R. Cooper	75,943	48%		Tom A. Coburn	82,479	52%
1996		Glen D. Johnson	90,120	45%		Tom A. Coburn	112,273	55%
1998		Kent Pharaoh	59,042	40%		Tom A. Coburn	85,581	58%		Albert Jones	Independent	3,641	2%

Oklahoma Senator (Class III) results: 2004^[67]

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
2004		Brad Carson	596,750	41%		Tom A. Coburn	763,433	53%		Sheila Bilyeu	Independent	86,663	6%

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

Official sites

• United States Senator Tom Coburn official Senate site
• Coburn for Senate official campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Collected news and commentary from The New York Times

Media coverage

• HI, I’M SENATOR COBURN, AND I DON’T WANT YOUR VOTE, Wil S. Hylton, GQ, February 2007
• Video of the 2004 Walt Haskins campaign ad (via Google Video)
• Second Chance Act supporters want senator’s support
• Coburn: Second Chance Act needs work before passage
• Second Chance Act held from Senate Vote, due to Oklahoma Senator
• "The Senate's Dr. No", George Will, Washington Post, February 12, 2006
• Senator Tom Coburn's Article Concerning Earmarks in the Wall Street Journal
• Locked, Loaded and Looney, The New York Times, August 30, 2007

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Mike Synar	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district 1995 – 2001	Succeeded by Brad Carson
United States Senate
Preceded by Don Nickles	United States Senator (Class 3) from Oklahoma 2005 – present Served alongside: Jim Inhofe	Incumbent
Order of precedence in the United States of America
Preceded by Jim DeMint R-South Carolina	United States Senators by seniority 69th	Succeeded by John Thune R-South Dakota

v • d • e Oklahoma's current delegation to the United States Congress Senators James Inhofe (R), Tom Coburn (R) Representative(s) John Sullivan (R), Dan Boren (D), Frank Lucas (R), Tom Cole (R), Mary Fallin (R) State delegations Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming Non-voting delegations American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Northern Mariana Islands • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands

v • d • e United States Senators from Oklahoma Class 2 Owen • Pine • Gore • Lee • Moore • Kerr • Edmondson • Harris • Bartlett • Boren • Inhofe Class 3 Gore • Harreld • Thomas • Monroney • Bellmon • Nickles • Coburn

v • d • e Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma 1st district McGuire • Davenport • Chandler • Howard • Chandler • Howard • Montgomery • Howard • O’Connor • Disney • Schwabe • Gilmer • Schwabe • Belcher • Jones • Inhofe • Largent • Sullivan 2nd district Fulton • Morgan • Hastings • Robertson • Hastings • Nichols • Stigler • Edmondson • McSpadden • Risenhoover • Synar • Coburn • Carson • D. Boren 3rd district Davenport • Creager • Davenport • Carter • Cartwright • Stewart • Albert • Watkins • Brewster • Watkins • Lucas 4th district Carter • Murray • McKeown • Pringey • McKeown • Gassaway • L. Boren • Johnson • Steed • McCurdy • Watts • Cole 5th district Ferris • Thompson • Harreld • Swank • Stone • Swank • Lee • Hill • Smith • Monroney • Jarman • Edwards • Istook • Fallin 6th district Murray • Ferris • Gensman • Thomas • Johnson Sr. • Morris • Wickersham • Morris • Wickersham • Johnson Jr. • Smith • Camp • English • Lucas 7th district McClintic • Massingale • Wickersham • Peden • Wickersham 8th district Weaver • Morgan • Swindall • Herrick • Garber • Marland • Ferguson • Rizley • Wilson • Belcher At-large Rogers Territory Harvey • Flynn • Callahan • Flynn • McGuire

v • d • e Current elected statewide political officials of Oklahoma U.S. Senators Jim Inhofe · Tom Coburn State government Brad Henry, Governor · Jari Askins, Lieutenant Governor · M. Susan Savage, Secretary of State · Steve Burrage, State Auditor and Inspector · Drew Edmondson, Attorney General · Scott Meacham, State Treasurer · Sandy Garrett, State School Superintendent · Lloyd Fields, Labor Commissioner · Kim Holland, Insurance Commissioner · Bob Anthony, Corporation Commissioner · Jeff Cloud, Corporation Commissioner  · Jim Roth, Corporation Commissioner Senate Glenn Coffee, President pro tempore · Todd Lamb, Majority Leader · Charlie Laster, Minority Leader House Chris Benge, Speaker · Kris Steele, Speaker pro tempore · Danny Morgan, Minority Leader Supreme Court James R. Winchester, Chief Justice · James E. Edmondson, Vice Chief Justice · Rudolph Hargrave · Marian P. Opala · Yvonne Kauger · Joseph M. Watt · Steven W. Taylor · Tom Colbert · John F. Reif

v • d • e Current members of the United States Senate     AL: Shelby (R), Sessions (R) AK: Murkowski (R), Begich (D) AZ: McCain (R), Kyl (R) AR: Lincoln (D), Pryor (D) CA: Feinstein (D), Boxer (D) CO: M. Udall (D), Bennet (D) CT: Dodd (D), Lieberman (ID) DE: Carper (D), Kaufman (D) FL: C. W. Nelson (D), Martinez (R) GA: Chambliss (R), Isakson (R) HI: Inouye (D), Akaka (D) ID: Crapo (R), Risch (R) IL: Durbin (D), Burris (D) IN: Lugar (R), Bayh (D) IA: Grassley (R), Harkin (D) KS: Brownback (R), Roberts (R) KY: McConnell (R), Bunning (R) LA: Landrieu (D), Vitter (R) ME: Snowe (R), Collins (R) MD: Mikulski (D), Cardin (D) MA: Kennedy (D), Kerry (D) MI: Levin (D), Stabenow (D) MN Klobuchar (D), Vacant MS: Cochran (R), Wicker (R) MO: Bond (R), McCaskill (D) MT: Baucus (D), Tester (D) NE: E. B. Nelson (D), Johanns (R) NV: Reid (D), Ensign (R) NH: Gregg (R), Shaheen (D) NJ: Lautenberg (D), Menendez (D) NM: Bingaman (D), T. Udall (D) NY: Schumer (D), Gillibrand (D) NC: Burr (R), Hagan (D) ND: Conrad (D), Dorgan (D) OH: Voinovich (R), Brown (D) OK: Inhofe (R), Coburn (R) OR: Wyden (D), Merkley (D) PA: Specter (D), Casey (D) RI: Reed (D), Whitehouse (D) SC: Graham (R), DeMint (R) SD: Johnson (D), Thune (R) TN: Alexander (R), Corker (R) TX: Hutchison (R), Cornyn (R) UT: Hatch (R), Bennett (R) VT: Leahy (D), Sanders (I) VA: Webb (D), Warner (D) WA: Murray (D), Cantwell (D) WV: Byrd (D), Rockefeller (D) WI: Kohl (D), Feingold (D) WY: Enzi (R), Barrasso (R) Democratic (57) • Republican (40) • Independent (2) • Vacant (1)

Persondata
NAME	Coburn, Thomas Allen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Medical doctor, politician
DATE OF BIRTH	March 14, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH	Casper, Wyoming, United States of America
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH