By Derrick Miller
The Duncan Banner
DUNCAN
Sat, May 17 2008
—
U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn spent an hour Thursday answering questions about federal government on topics from immigration to health care to increasing gas prices.
Coburn continued his town meeting series with a visit to Cameron University-Duncan.
“We’re really at a turning point in our country in the decisions we have to make,” he said. “The bigger the decisions in front of us, the bigger the cost to the future generation.”
And a big portion of his job is to make the right, yet difficult, choices to ensure the best interests of the American public, he said.
Those decisions can be influenced by the people, he said, because people are the basis of government.
“You still control things,” Coburn said. “You get the government you deserve by how much you participate.
“There’s very little common sense in Washington, but there’s a lot outside Washington.”
One of the first questions directed to Coburn was about immigration.
He said a lot is being done about immigration. The topic has required a 250 percent increase in funding and has led to the hiring of 5,000 more border-control agents.
“The immigration issue is a great issue,” he said. “It’s a great compliment to us as a nation.
“We need immigration in our country. It enlivens our spirit. But it needs to be done legally.”
Although the situation may have skewed the way things are handled in the federal government, he said this shouldn’t be the case because U.S. citizens should be the first thought of the federal government.
“It should be based on what our needs are as a nation, not those coming in,” Coburn said.
“I’m not proposing amnesty. It’s not about amnesty. It’s about not enforcing the law.”
Coburn said too many laws are based on the federal government, which should have a limited power when making decisions that affect state laws.
“We created a federal government, not to help out states,” he said. “We created a federal government to do limited tasks.”
He said one of the main issues facing the American government, as well as its citizens, is the national debt and the declining value of the dollar.
“We can’t afford to spend any more money,” he said.
To make a change in the way thing are run in Washington, D.C., he said more people need to participate in the process without being politicians.
“We have way too many politicians and not enough statesmen,” Coburn said. “I say that in Washington. It rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
“And I think they need to be rubbed the wrong way.”
He said elected officials need to be pushed toward making the right decisions that will benefit all citizens, not just a few constituents.
The pull to do the right thing is something people should be promoting, he said.
“America’s awake,” Coburn said. “There’s a rumble in America to get back to what we need to do.”
Another topic he discussed was health care, which he said is one of the main focuses of the American government.
“If you’re sick, the best place to get sick is here,” he said.
The health-care scenario works well if the money is used properly, he said. But issues with abused funds and Medicare are topics needing to be address soon, he said.
“We don’t need any more money in health care,” Coburn said. “We need someone to distribute it efficiently.”
His concern with Medicare is how it is funded, he said. About 55 percent of Medicare expenses come out of the general fund, not out of Medicare taxes.
He said he expects this figure to continue to rise.
“We need to change the system,” he said. “We need to see what works in this country.”
He said limits on health insurance hinder the freedom Americans should have when trying to decide what they want from their insurance.
“Our insurance commission tells us what we can buy,” he said. “We’ve lost freedom as we’ve handed freedom over to the government.”
He said competition among health-care insurance providers has helped to keep costs low.
But when it comes to senior citizens, he said AARP has been a hurdle to pass because the organization has one way of thinking about the issue of health care, while legislators have a different outlook. He said many people are afraid to take on AARP because they’re seniors.
Despite the difficulties facing the federal government with health care, he said something needs to be done to get the health-care program back on track.
“You can’t fix Medicare until you fix health care in America,” he said.
Coburn likened the national debt to pneumonia. If only the symptoms, and not the full ailment, continue to be addressed, the more likely the problem is to get worse.
“What we’re doing is treating the symptoms,” he said. “We need to treat the disease.”
He said he was expecting a day of reckoning to come, possibly in the year 2012.
For now, he said he doesn’t think America is heading into a recession.
“I think we’re in a slowdown,” Coburn said. “I don’t think we’re going to have a negative growth.”
High gas prices could be a result of the declining value of the American dollar, he said.
“The rest of the world has doubted that we can manage our finances and can stay within our debt,” he said. “They have discounted our dollar.”
Another reason for the higher prices is the amount of money America is spending outside the country to purchase oil. He said it figures up to be about $500 billion a year.
Although gas prices have increased, Coburn said the people of the United States are still fortunate with those prices.
“We have some of the cheapest gas in the western world,” he said. “We’ve been spoiled.”
Other issues he discussed included abortion and the presidential race.
He said three topics that will play a major role in this year’s presidential election are health care, foreign policy and dealing with America’s financial situation.
“What’s going to happen is going to happen,” he said.
With the changes coming soon, he said the American people can make a difference by staying involved in what’s going on in the federal government.
“Participate at every level and stay informed,” Coburn said. “That’s how we get back control.”
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