Paul Coverdell: “I rise in support of the amendment by the distinguished Senator from Texas and am proud to do so. Most of us who are…”

“I rise in support of the amendment by the distinguished Senator from Texas and am proud to do so. Most of us who are Members of this body who have recently come from the election process, have been indelibly marked by the electorate's broad dissatisfaction with the manner in which we have been conducting our business in Washington. They read of the size of the Federal Government, they read of the size of the staff, and the apparatus that surrounds the legislative as well as the executive branch, and they raise a loud voice of objection. Congress has increased spending for its own budget at double the inflation rate. We talk about health care. We have the same runaway increase in expenditures in our own legislative branch. In 10 years, the Consumer Price Index has risen 44 percent, the legislative branch 95 percent. The legislative branch staff has approximately 38,000 workers, which is larger than the combined legislative staff of Canada, Great Britain, Germany, and France.”