John Kerry: “I am pleased to join once again with my colleague from Wisconsin, Senator Feingold, in reducing waste from the budget…”

“I am pleased to join once again with my colleague from Wisconsin, Senator Feingold, in reducing waste from the budget and streamlining government. Senator Feingold and I have stood shoulder to shoulder on a number of occasions to cut corporate welfare and to reduce the Federal deficit. Just a few months ago, we were joined by Senator McCain and Senator Thompson in a bold attempt to reduce unnecessary and wasteful corporate welfare in the Federal budget by $60 billion over the next 6 years. It is sometimes difficult to stare down the special interests and take aim at the excess in our budget, but I am determined to continue the fight to ensure our children a debt-free future. Mr. President, I appreciate having the Senator from Wisconsin as a comrade in arms. Last year, I introduced a bill which reduced spending by more than $90 billion by the year 2002. One provision of that bill calls for a reduction of political appointees in the Federal Government to 2,000. The proposal by the Senator from Wisconsin is not quite as ambitious, but it is a fine start to rein in the surge in political appointees.”