I stand here at this task that i accused but before it was my desk. The desk of doctor tom coburn. After we d. In march he took his first breath and have been where he was finally cancer free, teen free, living in the presence of jesus where there is no government waste or inefficiencies. He serves in this chamber for ten years from 2005 to 2015 but also served in the house of representatives for six years from 1995 to 2001. The one title he carried in the chambers was doctor, and that was just his preferred term. He was born in casper wyoming march 14, 1948. He graduated from Central High School in 1966. In 1968 he married carolyn at the ms. Oklahoma. They have three daughters and nine grandchildren. Oklahoma state university, he was an honors student, president of the Student Business Council graduated in 1970 with a bachelors degree in accounting. After the Family Business was sold, he attended medical school at the university of oklahoma, received his medical degree with honors in 1983, interned at Saint Anthonys hospita hospitan 1986 he found a muskogee family is in practice which is still in operation today. The victory over melanoma is a a young man inspired him toma bece a physician. He stated he wanted to give back because he had been gettin get. The battle when he was a young man wasnt his last battle with cancer. As a physician, the dedication to his patients whose inexhaustible. Over his career, he delivered 4,000 babies and would often see 30 patients a day. After his election in 1994, he would fly from washington, d. C. And home so they could continue to see patients on the weekend. A schedule that he maintained the entire six years he spent in the house. He was a doctor all the time. It wasnt uncommon for him to be in a conversation with someone who in the middle of the conversation he would ask how they are feeling because he picked up some in their demeanor that he thought was a little bit wrong. He was a deacon and a sunday School Teacher and in all the stories ive told you if you are looking for an element of politics in the background, you will not find it until 1994. His decision to run for congress was a long shot. He not only wanted to become the first republican to represent oklahomas second Congressional District in 73 years. He went to congress as a man on a mission determined to help solve the nations problems. His focus was not oklahoma. It was the nation. Ira member asking him privately before i started serving in the house of representatives how he made a difference. His answer was there or to people that make a difference, the two peopleho that study and the committee chairman. Study more than anyone else, know the issue and you can get it done. His tenacity on each issue was legendary. Politico oncevi summarized as saying a typical bill moving through the senate has a number of hurdles to clear. Some committees, leadership and coburn. Its that last one you wont find in the textbook. The stafferof devoted to th stae cause not necessarily because of him but because of the mission. One of the staffers wrote this after he passed, the basically blocked a lot of bills incurred a lot of amendments and lost a lot of votes. We highlighted wasteful spending and over time we started changing how business was done. Those that have expended could pass without offsets in the duplication became part of the lexicon, the promise of earmarking went away and people started paying attention to government waste. His annual waste became one of the highprofile reports coming out of washington each year. Over the years, he and his team highlighted petroleum to questionable spending on low priority items that taxpayers were unwittingly paying for. Proves to be waste duplicated, fraudulent or purely an effective likely made the list each year. The waste by picking an rallying rscry with washingtons spending habits. Phrases that are common in american political conversations today, like the bridge to nowhere, shrimp on it treadmill, earmarks comedies of all battles he fought to win. In 2010 in the fight over the debt limit increase, doctor coburn created ancr annual repot into in the decision from the Government Accountability office on government duplication. They were battling on the field of ideals in a town that igwants to left versus right or conservative versus liberal and he had no one to join him. Ally you have to agree on everything but as long as you agree on what is in front of you that is what matters those were genuine, true and unique. The chief sponsor president obamas usa spending. Gov. And a champion for hiv and aids patients and medical research to save lives for Social Security to expose the Social Security see in West Virginia and to file bogus of disability applications. His clay pigeon amendment is legendary in senate procedure. He was one of the unlikeliest members to vote for tarpon 2008. And then so is the right thing to do that is what it boiled down to and willing to do the right thing no matter what the cost and with that opposition to prefere to argue to resolve an issue rather than in public although he was clearly not afraid to argue in public. After years of serving families to continue on weekends even in the house of representatives is an Ethics Committee ruled the doctor was violating conflict of interest rules to hold an outside job prohibited him from practicing medicine as a senato senator. He didnt just off taking payment and did pro bono and the Ethics Committee rejected that plan prohibited him from working pro bono. Ironically i am now the chairman of ethics of the senate and the last time i visited doctor coburn at his house in february we had a great conversation he said to me century the chairman of ethics why dont you get the will change and allow doctors to still Practice Medicine while they are in the senate . That is wrong. That needs to be fixed. Even in the end he was still working to write what was wrong. Many know that when he left he spent his time trying to fix Congress Still working on term limits and a balanced budget amendment. You should read with the former staff wrote after he passed away a few weeks ago. Any senator in this chamber could only wish the staff looked up to us as much as they looked up to him. The best way to honor him today was to remind this body of what he said as he walked out, his farewell speech. Among the many things he said he challenge the senate and senators by saying, the senate was designed uniquely to force compromise. Not to force gridlock, force compromise. One senator had the power to stop everything for the first 100 years but it didnt because compromise was the goal. Families understood there were differences between the states of geography, opinion and size the united one country based on the premise that many are more powerful than the one. Senators we have to follow this example. Ive not always done that. But i should have. As senators we must follow the example stand for our principles and working to find those areas an agreement were compromise can be found to move the country forward. Not all powers are exercised each member has a unique role to participate in practice oversight to hold the government accountable. That is part of the duties but most often that is the duties that are most ignored. True debates about National Priorities would come about with effective oversight. The senate once hailed as the regreatest deliberative body for these differences should be argued was civil discourse and not be settled in the streets just as the constitution provides for majority rule the senate must return to the principles to bring trust of the electorate the theme of his whole speech centered around the one statement we do not have one problem we cannot solve. There is nothing too big they are all solvable. And then its appropriate we pray for friends and family and former staff who will miss his friendship and c counsel. So will our nation. The daughters in the family cherish his memory ande the state will be forever grateful for your sacrifice. And then to be for the sake of the liberty in the future and i pray thats this body takes up the challenge he left on this floor to solve the hard problems. What we face as a nation together. I yield the floor. The senator for virginia. I ask unanimous consent to add my colleague as a cosponsor to joint resolution 68. Without objection. I rise to speak about president trumps veto of the senate joint resolution