Government Waste

Sen. Coburn Takes Aim Again at Wasteful Federal Spending

His last annual analysis before he retires

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Zombies, aliens and teaching different types of "monkeys" how to do things are some of the big themes in Republican Sen. Tom Coburn's 2014 "Wastebook" released Wednesday.

The fifth annual Wastebook chronicles 100 of the silliest uses of taxpayer dollars. The Oklahoma conservative says he has identified $25 billion in wasted government funds in what will be his last such book before he retires at the end of the Congressional session. (Some of the projects do have a more meaningful purposes than Coburn presents, but he focuses most on the absurdity.)

"The problem is not just what Washington isn't doing, but what it is doing," Coburn writes.