Coburn, Durbin Receive Economic Patriot Award

Senators Dick Durbin and Tom Coburn received The Concord Coalition’s 2014 Paul E. Tsongas Economic Patriot Award last week in Washington for their strong advocacy of fiscal responsibility and their willingness to work towards bipartisan budget solutions.

Concord Executive Director Robert L. Bixby praised Coburn (R-Okla.) and Durbin (D-Ill.) for their dedication to fiscal reform — including participation in the Senate’s “Gang of Six” efforts and their support on the Simpson-Bowles commission for its model deficit-reduction plan.

Senators Dick Durbin and Tom Coburn received The Concord Coalition’s 2014 Paul E. Tsongas Economic Patriot Award last week in Washington for their strong advocacy of fiscal responsibility and their willingness to work towards bipartisan budget solutions.

Concord Executive Director Robert L. Bixby praised Coburn (R-Okla.) and Durbin (D-Ill.) for their dedication to fiscal reform — including participation in the Senate’s “Gang of Six” efforts and their support on the Simpson-Bowles commission for its model deficit-reduction plan.

Durbin, the Senate’s majority whip, said in accepting the award that he particularly worries about the future of federal health care and retirement programs, noting “we only have a limited time to fix some of these programs or we’re going to reach a crisis, a catastrophe.”

Former senator Judd Gregg accepted the award on Coburn’s behalf, calling him “the conscience of the Congress on fiscal issues.”