Herb Kohl: “today I rise in support of the Kerrey amendment. The amendment contains specific spending cuts that could save the…”

“today I rise in support of the Kerrey amendment. The amendment contains specific spending cuts that could save the Government almost $95 billion over the next 5 years. I will not speak for long today, Madam President. We have had enough speeches about cutting spending. It is time for action. We all like to talk specifically about our ideas for spending Government money, but when it comes time to talk about reducing the deficit, we suddenly get vague. We are all against the deficit--in abstract. We are all against wasteful Government spending--if we do not go into details about exactly what we mean by wasteful. But there aren't many who want to stand up here and talk specifically about what programs we would cut. I commend Senator Kerrey, and the bipartisan groups of Senators who support this plan, for doing just that. And not only is this amendment specific. It is also even-handed. It cuts entitlements, defense, and domestic spending. No one group, State, or interest bears the brunt of the deficit reduction in this package. And because the cuts in this package are numerous and specific, there are some items I support strongly, like the proposal to cut Senators' pay by 5 percent. And there are some items I wish were not in the package, like the reduction in Legal Services Corporation.”