Sen. Thomas Coburn
Former Senator forOklahoma
![Photo of Sen. Thomas Coburn [R-OK, 2005-2014]](/image.pl?url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.govtrack.us%2fstatic%2flegislator-photos%2f400576-200px.jpeg&f=jpg&w=240)
Misconduct
In 2012 Coburn received a qualified admonishment for meeting with a lobbyist before the one year embargo on former Congressional staffers' lobbying expired. The Senate Select Committee on Ethicsissued a qualified admonishment because Coburn acknowledged his error and it was only a single meeting. Thelobbyist in question was the husband of a Sen. John Ensign staffer with whom Ensign had had an affair. Ensign attempted to placate the husband with a lobbying job and Coburn met with the husband before the lobbying embargo had ended. Coburn retired from the Senate in 2015.
| May. 25, 2012 | Senate Select Committee on Ethics issued a qualified admonishment because Coburn acknowledged his error and it was only a single meeting |
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our2014 Report Card for Coburn.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Coburn is shown as a purple triangle▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below.Each dot was a member of the Senatein 2014positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills legislators sponsored and cosponsoredfrom Jan. 6, 2009 to Dec. 12, 2014.See fullanalysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Coburn was the primary sponsor of 6 bills that were enacted:
- S. 2651 (113th): DHS OIG Mandates Revision Act of 2014
- S. 3173 (111th): Continuing Extension Act of 2010
- S. 3430 (110th): Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2008
- S. 3348 (110th): Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2008
- S. 3344 (110th): Protecting Children from Pornography and Internet Exploitation Act of 2008
- S. 2590 (109th): Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
Does 6 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Coburn sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Government Operations and Politics (27%)Health (22%)Taxation (16%)Economics and Public Finance (14%)Armed Forces and National Security (8%)Education (6%)Finance and Financial Sector (4%)Social Welfare (4%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Coburn recently introduced the following legislation:
- S. 3003 (113th): Protecting Social Security Disability Act of 2014
- S. 2927 (113th): Inspectors General Streamlining Act
- S. 2852 (113th): State Regulatory Representation Clarification Act of 2014
- S. 2904 (113th): Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act
- S. 2873 (113th): National Park System Donor Acknowledgment Act
- S. 2651 (113th): DHS OIG Mandates Revision Act of 2014
- S. 2370 (113th): Orphan Earmarks Act
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Coburn votedNay
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Coburn votedYea
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Missed Votes
From Jan 1995 to Dec 2014, Coburn missed 238 of 3,141 roll call votes, which is 7.6%.This ismuch worse thanthe median of 2.1%among the lifetime records of senators serving in Dec 2014.The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absences, major life events, and running for higher office.
| Time Period | Votes Eligible | Missed Votes | Percent | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 Jan-Mar (House) | 279 | 11 | 3.9% | 82nd |
| 1995 Apr-Jun (House) | 189 | 12 | 6.3% | 87th |
| 1995 Jul-Sep (House) | 232 | 8 | 3.4% | 77th |
| 1995 Oct-Dec (House) | 185 | 1 | 0.5% | 24th |
| 1996 Jan-Mar (House) | 110 | 1 | 0.9% | 30th |
| 1996 Apr-Jun (House) | 182 | 4 | 2.2% | 45th |
| 1996 Jul-Sep (House) | 163 | 5 | 3.1% | 60th |
| 1997 Jan-Mar (House) | 71 | 1 | 1.4% | 40th |
| 1997 Apr-Jun (House) | 174 | 9 | 5.2% | 82nd |
| 1997 Jul-Sep (House) | 232 | 14 | 6.0% | 86th |
| 1997 Oct-Nov (House) | 163 | 19 | 11.7% | 96th |
| 1998 Jan-Mar (House) | 89 | 3 | 3.4% | 60th |
| 1998 Apr-Jun (House) | 185 | 5 | 2.7% | 58th |
| 1998 Jul-Sep (House) | 199 | 8 | 4.0% | 67th |
| 1998 Oct-Dec (House) | 74 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1999 Jan-Mar (House) | 77 | 4 | 5.2% | 76th |
| 1999 Apr-Jun (House) | 184 | 13 | 7.1% | 85th |
| 1999 Jul-Sep (House) | 204 | 7 | 3.4% | 78th |
| 1999 Oct-Nov (House) | 146 | 11 | 7.5% | 83rd |
| 2000 Jan-Mar (House) | 95 | 9 | 9.5% | 82nd |
| 2000 Apr-Jun (House) | 277 | 56 | 20.2% | 97th |
| 2000 Jul-Sep (House) | 130 | 10 | 7.7% | 88th |
| 2000 Oct-Dec (House) | 101 | 21 | 20.8% | 86th |
| 2005 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 81 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 2005 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 89 | 2 | 2.2% | 62nd |
| 2005 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 76 | 1 | 1.3% | 40th |
| 2005 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 120 | 1 | 0.8% | 42nd |
| 2006 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 83 | 2 | 2.4% | 67th |
| 2006 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 107 | 1 | 0.9% | 35th |
| 2006 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 73 | 1 | 1.4% | 63rd |
| 2006 Nov-Dec (Senate) | 16 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 2007 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 126 | 8 | 6.3% | 91st |
| 2007 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 112 | 25 | 22.3% | 95th |
| 2007 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 119 | 3 | 2.5% | 64th |
| 2007 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 85 | 2 | 2.4% | 64th |
| 2008 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 85 | 3 | 3.5% | 86th |
| 2008 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 77 | 5 | 6.5% | 84th |
| 2008 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 47 | 4 | 8.5% | 79th |
| 2008 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 6 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 2009 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 118 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 2009 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 96 | 4 | 4.2% | 79th |
| 2009 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 89 | 2 | 2.2% | 77th |
| 2009 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 94 | 4 | 4.3% | 87th |
| 2010 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 108 | 1 | 0.9% | 45th |
| 2010 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 96 | 3 | 3.1% | 75th |
| 2010 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 44 | 2 | 4.5% | 81st |
| 2010 Nov-Dec (Senate) | 51 | 1 | 2.0% | 42nd |
| 2011 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 46 | 2 | 4.3% | 71st |
| 2011 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 58 | 5 | 8.6% | 90th |
| 2011 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 49 | 3 | 6.1% | 81st |
| 2011 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 82 | 11 | 13.4% | 98th |
| 2012 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 63 | 1 | 1.6% | 59th |
| 2012 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 109 | 6 | 5.5% | 92nd |
| 2012 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 28 | 2 | 7.1% | 80th |
| 2012 Nov-Dec (Senate) | 50 | 2 | 4.0% | 68th |
| 2013 Jan-Jan 112th Congress (Senate) | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 2013 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 92 | 3 | 3.3% | 89th |
| 2013 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 76 | 7 | 9.2% | 90th |
| 2013 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 43 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 2013 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 80 | 17 | 21.2% | 97th |
| 2014 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 93 | 19 | 20.4% | 98th |
| 2014 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 123 | 21 | 17.1% | 92nd |
| 2014 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 54 | 4 | 7.4% | 82nd |
| 2014 Nov-Dec (Senate) | 96 | 60 | 62.5% | 99th |
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- TheHouse andSenate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills