Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, at a time when our Nation is currently over $18 trillion in debt, we must carefully scrutinize our government programs to ensure that we are funding essential programs, policies, and projects while eliminating frivolous and wasteful spending. Every day in the news, Americans hear of government waste, fraud, abuse, and regulations that are hindering our small businesses and costing American taxpayers billions of dollars that could be better spent in creating jobs and boosting our economy. Today, I rise to establish the Golden Fleece Award to once again uncover and bring public attention to the wasteful spending across our Federal Government. The Golden Fleece Award will highlight some of the most egregious examples of government waste of hard-working taxpayers' dollars and will shed new light on some of the rampant, unnecessary spending by our Federal agencies. The inspiration behind the Golden Fleece Award was pioneered by the Democratic U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Bill Proxmire, in March 1975. For the next 13 years, Senator Proxmire went on to issue bulletins announcing a monthly Golden Fleece Award. The Golden Fleece Award became a staple in the U.S. Senate during this time. Senator Robert Byrd once stated that the awards were ``as much a part of the Senate as quorum calls and filibusters.'' Mr.…”