1. What is the purpose of U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn’s annual Wastebook?

2. What recommendation does Sen. Coburn have for all members of Congress?

3. How does Sen. Coburn compile the Wastebook every year? Be specific.

4. What is the total amount of government waste identified by Sen. Coburn in the 2014 Wastebook?

5. a) Why is 2014 the last year Sen. Coburn will be putting out a Wastebook?
b) CNN reported: “In the 2014 edition of the Wastebook, Coburn notes that getting rid of the practice of pork barrel spending is next to impossible. ‘What I have learned from these experiences is Washington will never change itself,’ he said.”
[NOTE: pork-barrel spending, or earmarks, refer to the funding a member of Congress adds onto an unrelated spending bill for a specific project (in his/her home state) that benefits voters, in an effort to ultimately assist in re-election.]
In light of the fact that the Wastebook has not caused a lot of the wasteful spending to stop, how important do you think it is for another Senator to continue the report next year?

6. a) What is a “fiscal watchdog”?
b) Sen. Coburn believes we have a right to know how the government is spending our money. Do you agree? Explain your answer.

7. CNN also reported:

Congress ended this fiscal year with a debt under a trillion dollars for the first time since 2008, according to the Wastebook report, but Coburn notes that the deficit still added $486 billion, or half a trillion dollars, to the national debt, which is "quickly approaching $18 trillion."

Of the entries listed in his book, Coburn, who will retire in 2016 after serving two terms, asks, "Is each of these a true national priority or could the money have been better spent on a more urgent need or not spent at all in order to reduce the burden of debt being left to be paid off by our children and grandchildren?"

a) Do you agree with Sen. Coburn? Explain your answer.
b) Ask a parent the same question.
c) Different from the research and various programs Sen. Coburn highlights, ask a parent if your family benefits from any government programs that he/she thinks should probably not exist.
d) Pork-barrel spending, or earmarks, refer to the funding a member of Congress adds onto an unrelated spending bill for a specific project (in his/her home state) that benefits voters, in an effort to ultimately assist in re-election.
How can voters get Congress to end the practice of pork barrel spending?