Russ Feingold: “very briefly, again I salute the Senator from Ohio for his knowledge in this area. It is extensive and a great…”

“very briefly, again I salute the Senator from Ohio for his knowledge in this area. It is extensive and a great contribution to Government efficiency. I want to be clear. The great growth in this area did not occur under President Clinton. I am, of course, a Democrat supporting his reelection, and I am in no way pointing my finger at this administration. The facts don't show that at all. This has been a gradual process over the years which both parties participated in. I want to be clear about that. I also want to point out, because I was very appreciative of the figures just placed in the Record, yes, there is a high turnover rate. This is something I mentioned in my remarks. I will add, I gave a number of reasons why I didn't think we had a harsh provision. That turnover rate means it is going to be very easy, comparatively speaking, for the President to deal with this. If that is the turnover rate during the course of the next year, a lot of those folks who turn over won't have to be replaced. In other words, we're not talking here about mass firings; we are talking about not replacing, in many cases, those who have simply chosen to leave after a brief tenure.”