Okla. Senator Blocks Bill to Honor Carson
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OKLAHOMA SEN. TOM COBURN has a list of criteria for the type of legislation he'll place a hold on — a procedural move that's used often by members to block a bill from moving forward.
Most of his reasons involve expansions of federal spending, because, as the senator writes on his "hold" criteria page, "[f]or too long, Congress has simply borrowed more and more money to pay for new spending." After the list of criteria is exhausted, then there's this:
This is not an exhaustive list, and Senator Coburn may also object to legislation that oversteps the limited role of the federal government enshrined in our Constitution by our Founders or that violates his own personal convictions.So somewhere in there lies the reason why Coburn is holding up legislation that would honor the late Silver Spring environmental activist Rachel Carson, who would have celebrated her 100th birthday this Sunday.
As The Post's David A. Fahrenthold reports, the senator says that "her warnings about environmental damage have put a stigma on potentially lifesaving pesticides" like DDT.
The move has fed a battle over the legacy of Carson, who is credited with sparking the movement to form the Environmental Protection Agency but is also criticized by some for being "too alarmist" about DDT.
In the end, as the American Enterprise Institute's Roger Bate, tells The Post: "A lot of people have used Carson to push their own agendas. We just have to be a little careful when you're talking about someone who died in 1964."
» "Dr. Coburn's Criteria for Holding a Bill" [Sen. Tom Coburn]
» "The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson" [RachelCarson.org]
» "Bill to Honor Rachel Carson on Hold" [WaPo]
Photo courtesy Sen. Tom Coburn's Office
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Rachel Carson urged that DDT be reserved for treating things like malaria. Sen. Coburn is woefully ill-informed, or one of the meanest people on Earth.
In any case, there is no rational justification for his hold on the bill to name a post office for Rachel Carson. Since Coburn is joined in his opposition only by proponents of tobacco use (people who argue tobacco has no health effects) and Lyndon Larouche, one might be excused for wondering why Coburn doesn't get out of that cocktail party and honor Carson instead.
By Ed Darrell , Posted July 15, 2007 2:34 AM