Dan Coats: “The voters on November 8 said they wanted some very significant, major change in the way that Washington does its…”

“The voters on November 8 said they wanted some very significant, major change in the way that Washington does its business, in the way it relates to the citizens which we were sent here to serve. There are some basic fundamental underlying principles that we pledged to the people in the fall of 1994 and which they endorsed on November 8: Live by the laws that you ask us to live by. Get your fiscal house in order. Do what we have to do. Do not spend more money than you take in. Fundamental to and a big part of that mandate was the request from Governors and mayors and local units of government to 'quit sending us mandates to comply with certain laws that you think are best for our communities, that you think are best for our people, and, by the way, that you think we ought to pay for.' I have here a chart of the State of Indiana with just nine cities highlighted, with the amounts that these cities have to spend on mandates sent by this body, on priorities that they do not feel are the top priorities in their communities. They are diverting money from police on the streets.”