Senator Tom Coburn - The Debt Bomb: A Bold Plan to Stop Washington from Bankrupting America

Praise for The Debt Bomb

The five loveliest words in the English language are those that begin the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law... Notice the most under-used word in contemporary Washington: No. Fortunately, Tom Coburn uses it with gusto in attacking the crisis so well described in this book. He is a man with a plan, and the steely determination to implement it.

George F. Will, nationally
syndicated columnist

Dr. Tom Coburn is the real deal. Hes not a politician; hes a citizen in office. Day in and day out, hes been fighting to shrink the federal government, and has been attacked by his own party and the political opposition for doing so. Now hes written a book outlining in stark terms the problems the nation is facing. Dr. Coburn is a real American hero, and hes standing against the tide in the United States Senate. If you want the truth, from the inside, you need to read this book.

Mark Meckler, cofounder and
National Chairman of the Tea
Party Patriots

The Debt Bomb is superb. Its a smart, gutsy, and captivating take on how Washington got us into this messit then gives the taxpayers some real answers and solutions as to how to get out of it! If youre sick and tired of Washington politicians making excuses and pandering mush, this book will be a sheer delight. Tom Coburn tells the truth, and tips over everyones sacred cows.

Al Simpson, former
U.S. Senator

Nobody understands our nations fiscal nightmare better than Dr. Coburn, and no one else has proposed more concrete ways to attack our fiscal problems. Tom Coburn gets it. He readily admits there is no easy way out of the fiscal mess our politicians have gotten us into. And he is bold enough and smart enough to propose real solutions that will put our fiscal house in order. Tom Coburn is my hero.

Erskine Bowles, White House
Chief of Staff under President
Bill Clinton

Tom Coburn is a rare breed in a town filled with big spending Democrats and big government Republicans. As a fellow member of the Class of 1994, Ive seen Tom stay true to the values of our cause while others sold out to Washingtons highest bidders. With Americas future hanging in the balance, Tom has written a book that warns of a coming debt bomb that threatens to destroy our economy and our future. If you want to know how Washington can avert the coming crisis, read this important book.

Joe Scarborough, host of
MSNBCs Morning Joe

The Debt Bomb has the bold answers and insights the American people have been clamoring for. Dr. Coburns willingness to go big exposes the appalling lack of leadership in the White House and Congress. The Debt Bomb should be required reading for any American who wants to force our elected leaders to step up and join Dr. Coburn in addressing this urgent threat.

Larry Kudlow, Reagan
administration economist and
host of CNBCs The Kudlow
Report

In The Debt Bomb, Tom outlines how all Americans can work together to strengthen our critical health and retirement security programs, reform our tax code, and lift our crushing burden of debt. Dr. Coburn has accurately diagnosed the problem and offers a sensible prescription to solve it. More than anything, he makes a compelling case for urgency and action before the crisis becomes incurable.

Representative Paul Ryan,
Chairman of the House Budget
Committee

No one in Congress has done more to shift the debate from growing government to cutting spending than Tom Coburn. When others were silent, he courageously stood up to big spenders in both parties, exposed the wasteful earmarks like the Bridge to Nowhere, and called for an end to corporate welfare that undermines our free market economy. In The Debt Bomb, Tom outlines bold, decisive action to save our nation from fiscal collapse. Its a privilege to fight alongside him to defend freedom.

Senator Jim DeMint

Its high time we had a ruthless and compassionate conversation about the American tax policy, Senator Coburn takes a big step in this book.

Dylan Ratigan, host of MSNBCs
The Dylan Ratigan Show

Senator Coburn gives the reader a fascinating inside look at his courageous efforts to end congressional boondoggles, root out waste in government, and defuse the debt bomb. He is a strong voice for common sense and fiscal sanity, unafraid to dig into details and stand up to the leadership, even in his own party.

Alice M. Rivlin, Brookings
Institution, former Director of
the Office of Management and
Budget under President Clinton

As someone who courageously supported the recommendations of the Bowles-Simpson Commission and as a member of the Senates bipartisan Gang of Six, Tom Coburn has demonstrated a commitment to improving Americas unsustainable long-term fiscal outlook through bipartisan solutions. In The Debt Bomb, he shows us why he has devoted so much time and energy to addressing Americas fiscal challenges, which pose a primary threat to the future prosperity of all Americans, including the most vulnerable in our society.

Peter G. Peterson, former
Secretary of Commerce under
President Nixon and author of
Running on Empty

Throughout his distinguished career, Senator Tom Coburn has been one of the most consistent advocates for fiscal sanity and responsibility in Washington. Based on unambiguous evidence and moral principle, The Debt Bomb not only articulates the dangerous consequences of our runaway spending, but also offers courageous, responsible, no-nonsense solutions for restoring America to prosperity. This is an important book at a critical time in our nations history.

Bill Bennett, former Secretary
of Education under President
Reagan and host of Morning
in America

THE DEBT BOMB

A Bold Plan to Stop Washington from Bankrupting America

U. S. SENATOR
TOM A. COBURN, M.D.
with John Hart

2012 by Senator Tom A. Coburn, MD

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Coburn, Tom A.

The debt bomb : a bold plan to stop Washington from bankrupting America / Tom Coburn; with John Hart.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-59555-467-3

1. Government spending policyUnited States. 2. Debts, PublicUnited States. 3. BureaucracyUnited States. 4. United StatesPolitics and government2009 5. United StatesEconomic policy2009 I. Hart, John. II. Title.

HJ7537.C63 2012

336.3'40973dc23

2011053178

Printed in the United States of America

12 13 14 15 QGF 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to every American from
every persuasion who wants a realistic explanation
of where we stand and who wants to renew
confidence both in ourselves and our republic.