Sen. Tom Coburn
THE PITS: Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn (inset) — a k a “Dr. No” — wants to block funding for the 9/11 memorial unless there are budget cuts elsewhere. (
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WASHINGTON — Dr. No is at it again.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is blocking $20 million in annual federal funding for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.
Coburn, who two years ago temporarily halted federal aid to sick 9/11 first responders, said the museum’s millions should be taken from other parts of the US budget.
As before, the stand by the physician nicknamed “Dr. No” for regularly holding up money he deems not a taxpayer priority, caused outrage among New Yorkers.
“This is sacred ground not only to New Yorkers, but Americans, and to have the memorial museum, in as good a way as possible, not limited by lack of funding makes eminent sense,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who co-sponsored the legislation for the funding.
Pointing to a federal budget already over $1 trillion in debt, Coburn said the museum cash amounts to $200 million over the next 10 years.
“If they want to have it, they have to find a way to pay for it,” he said. “This isn’t anything new. I put a hold on everything, Republican and Democrats alike.”
The memorial and museum are noble, he said, but paying for them digs the federal government into a deeper financial hole.
“It has nothing to do with New York,” he said. “It has to do with Congress having priorities. If this is a priority, find some way to pay for it.”
Yet Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bloomberg, said other memorials and museums receive annual federal money.
The US Holocaust Museum gets 56 percent of its $90 million operation dollars from the feds while the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts receives $22 million annually, Wood said. Both are in Washington, DC.
Two-thirds of the 9/11 museum money comes from private donations and ticket sales, Wood said. The cost to operate the museum annually is $50 million to $60 million.
“There has been very generous support from the private sector. There is not enough money to have the memorial function in the way it should,” Schumer said. “And that’s why they approached us and we put this proposal in the bill, and we hope that Senator Coburn will relent.”
News of the Coburn hold broke when a reporter overheard Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) telling a fellow senator that Coburn was blocking funding to “my museum.” Gillibrand, too, is a co-sponsor of the legislation.
Monica Iken, who lost her son on 9/11, hopes the federal dollars can be secured.
“This is the world’s memorial, this is a national memorial,” Iken said. “It’s had a million people visit already, showing the need for the funding.”