WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Senator-elect Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said he will challenge a congressional rule requiring him to stop practicing medicine when he is sworn into office Tuesday.
"He does want to continue seeing patients while he's serving in the Senate, and he is hoping to come to an accommodation with the Senate Ethics Committee," said Coburn Chief of Staff Michael Schwartz, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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"He believes he is a more effective legislator if he is able to relate to constituents in a non-political context, if he is able to listen to what ordinary people are thinking. He believes that Congress is better off if we have citizen legislators."
Coburn served as a member of the House from 1995 to 2001.