The Senate's 'Dr. No'

WASHINGTON

Instead of a keepsake photo of a political hero or his family, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has a large framed picture next to his desk that serves as a constant reminder of his political ideology. Inside the black frame and matting is a single word, in large white letters: "No."

Coburn has become best known as the lawmaker who says no -- no to increased funding for unsolved civil rights crimes, no to creation of a national registry for victims of the disease ALS, no to more money for child pornography prosecutions.

Using every parliamentary tactic at his disposal, Coburn has tied the Senate in so many knots that Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has decided on an extraordinary tactic: He will devote most of the Senate's time this week to breaking the one-man stranglehold.

Rolling 35 bills into one omnibus package -- some call it the Tomnibus -- Reid will try to leap all of Coburn's parliamentary hurdles at once and win approval for dozens of programs worth more than $10 billion.

"For those of you who may not know this," Reid said recently, "you cannot negotiate with Coburn. It's just something that you learn over the years ... is a waste of time."

Most of the bills, including a child pornography law that passed the House 409-0 in November, are so noncontroversial that they would normally sail through on voice votes, with no roll call taken. But not while "Dr. No" is in the Senate.

"If we pass a new program, we either ought to get rid of the old program or we ought to make it to where it blends with this other one so it's effective," Coburn said in an interview last week.

His staff estimates that waste and fraud costs taxpayers $300 billion a year.

Coburn said his colleagues have lost appreciation for the broad national interest and instead hope to pass legislation in their names so they can win reelection. "When you take that oath, it doesn't say anything about your state," he said. "The parochialism needs to die."

Inevitably, his stance has created conflict. While most senators say the 60-year-old Oklahoman is personally gracious, some contend that he is confused about the legislator's role in government.

"What do the constituents in your state expect of you? I believe they expect me to get some things done. I don't believe they're looking for 'no.' They're looking for 'yes,'" said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who fought Coburn last year over an earmark for a Nebraska-based military contractor.

Coburn quickly learned the complex rules of the Senate. Unlike the House -- where the majority can rule even with a one-vote edge -- the Senate acts on a vaguely accepted concept of "unanimous consent." Without all 100 senators in agreement, it can take a series of time-consuming deliberative actions and votes to move ahead on legislation.

Faced with a backlog of more than 80 bills, Reid selected 35 for the omnibus legislation -- all approved by the House.