News Analysis Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) earned his “Dr. No” nickname in the U.S. Senate with his determined opposition to earmarks, which he called “the gateway drug for federal spending addiction” that hooks so many senators and representatives. Thanks largely to Coburn’s exposure of infamous earmarks like Alaska’s “Bridge to Nowhere,” Congress in 2011 banned earmarks—unrelated spending provisions inserted, often anonymously, into legislation that, while often funding worthy community projects, could also quietly benefit a congressman’s family, staff members, or campaign contributors. But Democrats and Republicans agreed last year to bring earmarks back, only with a new name, “Congressionally Directed Spending,” and with new disclosure provisions intended to highlight sponsoring senators and representatives. Coburn, who died in 2020 of prostate cancer, was not around to see the return of earmarks. Consequently, the recently enacted $1.5 trillion Continuing Resolution that funds the federal government through September contains nearly 5,000 earmarks collectively valued at …