The group presented an agenda that would save $115 billion over the next two years. Included among the items targeted for cuts are a five percent reduction in non-defense/homeland security discretionary spending, delay the Medicare drug benefit for two years, freeze salaries for members of Congress for one year and rescind all highway bill pork projects. Too bad for Senator Stevens.

The most important item of the group's agenda is the proposal to appoint a commission, similar to the commission that recommends the closing of military bases, to identify unnecessary, wasteful or duplicate discretionary spending programs. Congress would then vote up or down on the entire list of programs. This is politically feasible because it allows individual members to hide behind the cloak of, "Gee, I tried to keep our bike trail, but the commission targeted it, so what could I do?"

The members of Congress and the Senate of the United States are driving this country into financial ruin because of their never-ending drive to remain in Washington. Short of Congressional term limits (which would require a Constitutional amendment), it is only through the actions of individual members such as Senator Coburn that fiscal sanity has any real hope of being realized.

If your Senators are not among those that voted for the Coburn amendments, please use this as an opportunity to bring to their attention the fact that while they fiddle, America is burning and the voters are paying attention. We need more people like Senator Coburn in Washington. We need representatives that will look past the next election and put a stop to the insanity. If the group that is there now doesn't measure up, it is time to send each of them into retirement.

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