Sen. Tom Coburn said Thursday his colleagues in the Senate and House "don't pay attention" to the U.S. Constitution, and that he has a bill in the Senate to address the issue.
Coburn, along with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, introduced the Enumerated Powers Act of 2013, which would require that each act of Congress "contain a concise explanation of the specific authority in the Constitution" that is the basis for its enactment.
The measure "has 35 co-sponsors, but there's not one Democrat on there," the Oklahoma Republican said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"All it says is when you're going to pass a bill justify it by relating to the Constitution where you get the power to do that," Coburn said. "We wouldn't be $17 trillion in debt if we actually followed the constitution. What our founders set is a very limited government."
Coburn said, "We really lack leadership. And what we have is selfish desires for political power, rather than thoughtful consideration about what's in the best long-term interest of our country as a whole, and what are we putting at risk when we don't have the leadership that redirects us to think long term and also think in terms of limited government."
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