The beautiful part of the U.S. Senate is also maybe the most aggravating part of the Senate, as just one Senator can cause all kinds of parliamentary trouble.

Today, the focus will be squarely on Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) who has made clear from the time that he was elected, that he will use all tools available to him to slow the growth of government.

Coburn has used what are known as "holds" to delay action on bills that for the most part are minor.  He says he just wants his colleagues to cut back in other areas to pay for new government spending.

Coburn has blocked bills sponsored by members of both parties, and so Democrats decided to see if they could find a way to free a bunch of those measures just before an August break.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took 36 bills - not all of which have been delayed by Coburn - and lumped them into one piece of legislation.

The bill is S. 3297, the Advancing America's Priorities Act, if you want to look it up on the Library of Congress web site.  But it's known as the "Coburn Omnibus."

If Democrats thought they could publicly shame Coburn, then they don't know their adversary very well.  The obstetrician-turned-politician isn't one to shy from a fight.

His opposition to the bills, which he says will cost taxpayers well over $11 billion, will get a lot of Republican support, mainly because of GOP arguments that if anything deserves time on the Senate floor right now, it is legislation on high oil and gas prices.

We don't have many people like Coburn in the Congress, mainly because it's a lonely job to be the watchdog of your colleagues.  You get trashed publicly and privately by members of both parties, who don't like having their bills challenged.

If you are wondering what legislation has been dumped into this one bill, here we go:

    * S. 1382, the ALS Registry Act
    * S. 1183, the Christoper and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act
    * S. 999, the Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act
    * H.R. 20, the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act
    * S. 1117, the Vision Care for Kids Act of 2008
    * S. 1810, the Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act
    * H.R. 5524, the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act of 2008
    * S. 535, the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act of 2007
    * S. 2304, the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008
    * H.R. 4120, the Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act of 2007
    * H.R. 4136, the Enhancing the Effective Prosecution of Child Pornography Act of 2007
    * S. 1210, the Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007
    * S. 1079, the Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission Act
    * S. 1738, the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008
    * H.R. 2964, the Captive Primate Safety Act
    * S. 2707, the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network Continuing Authorization Act
    * S. 2844, the Beach Protection Act of 2008
    * S. 496, the Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 2008
    * H.R. 1469, the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2008
    * H.R. 1084, the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 2008
    * H.R. 2798, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation Reauthorization of Act of 2008
    * S. 2020, the Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2008
    * H.R. 1678, the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2008
    * H.R. 3320, the Support for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews Act of 2008
    * S. 1492, the Broadband Data Improvement Act
    * S. 675, the Training for Realtime Writers Act of 2007
    * H.R. 3352, the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act Amendments of 2008
    * H.R. 1834, the NOAA Undersea Research Program Act of 2008
    * H.R. 2400, the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act
    * H.R. 5618, the National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2008
    * S. 950, the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2008
    * H.R. 4174, the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2008
    * S. 1446, the National Capital Transportation Amendments Act of 2008
    * H.R. 390, the Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act
    * S. 3175, the Predisaster Hazard Mitigation Act of 2008
    * H.R. 5492, To authorize the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to construct a greenhouse facility at its museum support facility in Suitland, Maryland, and for other purposes.

You might find a few things in there that sound okay, and then a few more that make you wonder what is going on in the Congress.

The Senate will try to force action on the "Coburn Omnibus" later today.  Democrats will likely not have 60 votes needed to shut off debate.

That will lead to more accusations by Democrats that Republicans are filibustering everything in sight, and are to blame for the lack of action on a host of problems affecting America.

Republicans meanwhile will blame Democrats for not focusing on high oil and gas prices, as the GOP calls for votes on offshore drilling and more.