Senator Rand Paul Blocks $39.8 Billion Ukraine Aid Bill

Despite the high-profile pressure from the two leaders, Paul refused to blink, meaning that Schumer will need to take procedural steps to overcome his objection, which could take several days, but will ultimately lead to passage of the supplemental spending bill sometime next week.

One-Man Gridlock: Meet Tom Coburn, Senate's 'Dr. No'

By Sarah Lueck
Dec. 21, 2007 11:59 pm ET


WASHINGTON -- On Tuesday afternoon, when most senators were preparing to leave Washington for the holiday recess, Tom Coburn was declaring his intention to stick around. "The floor's going to be open," said the 59-year-old Oklahoma Republican. "I'm going to have to be here...to try to stop stuff." Stopping stuff is Sen. Coburn's specialty. In a Congress that has had trouble passing even the simplest legislation, Sen. Coburn, who proudly wears the nickname "Dr. No,'' is a one-man gridlock machine.

This year, the senator, who indeed is a medical doctor, single-handedly blocked or slowed more than 90 bills, driving lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to distraction. He blocked a ban on genetic discrimination by health insurers. He thwarted a bill to set up a program to track patients with Lou Gehrig's disease. Also nixed: an effort to promote safe Internet use by children and a resolution to honor the late environmentalist Rachel Carson on the 100th anniversary of her birth.

A bill that would authorize government mapping of the ocean floor and coastal areas? No way. One that would require more data collection on the availability and quality of broadband service? Uh-uh. If Dr. Coburn had his way, there would be no new funding for a Justice Department office to investigate unsolved Civil Rights-era killings, no promotion of wild-land firefighter safety. Sometimes, Dr. Coburn, an obstetrician who sees patients one morning a week, disagrees with the proposals.

As a fiscal conservative, he usually objects to what he sees as excess spending. Sometimes, he just wants to force a debate or improve on items that would otherwise fly through the Senate. In a crowded legislative calendar, not everything gets the scrutiny voters might imagine. Dr. Coburn's weapon of choice is the "hold," a procedural maneuver that allows a single senator to prevent a bill from being passed quickly without a roll-call vote or floor debate. Until a rule change this year, senators could keep their holds secret, and they usually did. Dr. Coburn notifies colleagues about his intentions.

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