Per a press release issued by Americans for Limited Government, Senator Coburn (R-OK) has sent a letter to Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) offering his thoughts on the upcoming debate over a package of bills which the Oklahoma Senator has placed a “hold” on. This hold keeps the otherwise non-controversial bills from being passed by unanimous consent.
Here’s an excerpt:
While the proposed omnibus spending bill that you have expressed your intention to bring to the floor next week is unprecedented in size, scope and practice-it nearly reaches across the full spectrum of the federal government and contains over 100 individual bills suggested by over 10 committees-it would be my preference that this bill should be considered under the usual Senate rules allowing amendments and debate.
In the interest of achieving our shared goals, however, I would be willing to enter into a unanimous consent agreement that would limit amendments and debate as long as, first and foremost, the cost of the bill is addressed and I am given an opportunity to offer amendments to address other issues of concern.
Senator Coburn estimates that the cost of the omnibus bill could reach $25 billion. He wants to see offsets provided to pay for the cost of the package.
The letter goes on to note potential agreements for debate once the bill reaches the Senate floor if no such agreement on how to pay for its cost can be reached:
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One related amendment and one hour of debate for each $1 billion authorized in new spending by the omnibus;
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One related amendment for each new government office, government program federal commission, park, heritage area, wilderness area, or museum created by the omnibus with at least 30 minutes to debate each amendment; or
- One related amendment for each of the individual bills wrapped into the omnibus with 30 minutes of debate for each amendment.
The end of the letter leaves open the possibility for other agreements to be reached between the Majority Leader and Senator Coburn. Read a full copy here (pdf).
A special thanks to one of our readers for providing a copy of the letter.
Update: Donny Shaw at OpenCongress has a list of some bills likely to be included in the omnibus. It now appears that the package may be trimmed down to around 40 pieces of legislation. View this post for a new update on the bill.
