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Last updated on Tuesday, March 17, 2015
(WASHINGTON D.C.) - “Dr. No” may have left Capitol Hill, but another senator has stepped in to keep alive Sen. Tom Coburn’s spirit for challenging government waste.
Sarah Chacko, of CQ reports, Dan Coats has launched a new "Waste of the Week" initiative, where he'll take to the floor to describe what he says are duplicative, malfunctioning or flatly unnecessary government programs and services.
"Everyone in America knows that we are careening towards insolvency," the Indiana Republican declared on the Senate floor Feb. 25. "Let's identify those things that we know don't work, we know are a waste, we know are a duplication, and let's see at least if we can get some start in terms of dealing with this debt."
Coats is the latest in a long line of fiscal scolds in the Senate. Most recently, that role was occupied by Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican who retired this year after a proud career of bringing the Senate to a halt over some perceived fiscal profligacy. In previous decades, the role was played by Democrats William Proxmire of Wisconsin, who generated monthly "Golden Fleece" awards, and Howard M. Metzenbaum of Ohio, whose name was often in close proximity to the word "gadfly."
Coburn published an annual "wastebook" full of suggested cuts, and Coats conceded that his effort may pale in comparison.
"I'm not trying to take his place," Coats said. But, he also saw a hole to fill and wants to have an answer to "those who say, 'We can't cut a penny more. We've cut too much.'"
His inaugural "Waste of the Week" proposal would prevent people from receiving both Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and unemployment benefits.
"Either you can work or you can't work," Coats said. "You're eligible for one safety net program or the other, but not both." He said preventing this "double dipping" would save taxpayers $5.7 billion over 10 years.
His second instance of waste, detailed earlier this month, called for consolidating the 52 federal programs to support entrepreneurs that exist across the Small Business Administration and the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Housing and Urban Development.
Coats has prominent perches to push his agenda. He is the new chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and also sits on the Senate Finance Committee.
Coats's goal is to rack up enough examples to total $100 billion in savings. While that wouldn't do much to chip away at the $18 trillion national debt, Coats said it's at least a start to get things moving in the right direction.
"This is my small step -- after many large steps that have failed -- to try to continue to alert the American people and alert my colleagues that there is money we can save," Coats said.
While Coburn's sobriquet stemmed from his status as an obstetrician, Coats sports a doctor of jurisprudence from Indiana University. Nominations for nicknames are open.
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