Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
Honoring Senator William Proxmire
From the Senate Floor
December 16, 2005
Mr. President, I rise with great sadness to pay tribute to one of Wisconsin,
and the nation’s, great public servants: William Proxmire. Senator
Proxmire passed away early this morning, at the age of 90. He was, simply
put, a legend in Wisconsin, a man who represented the very best of our
state, and who will be remembered as one of the greatest advocates for
a better government, and a healthier democracy, to ever serve in this
body.
On this very floor he railed against government waste, and against
corruption. I think the American people can be grateful to Bill Proxmire
for so many things. But, perhaps most of all, we owe him a debt of gratitude
for his work to change the culture in Congress when it comes to wasteful
spending.
He didn’t buy into a culture that treats government spending
like a tab that someone else will pick up, that tucks pork-barrel spending
into bills late at night, or lets boondoggles slip by unnoticed. He
knew that sunlight was the best disinfectant, and he wasn’t afraid
to tear down the drapes, throw open the windows, and let the sun shine
in on the legislative process. He didn’t shy away from public
outrage about what was wrong with the system – he brought that
outrage to bear as he fought to change the system for the better. Anyone
who comes to the floor today to try to put the brakes on a wasteful
project, or try to push for budget discipline, can thank Bill Proxmire
for the example he set, and for the way he challenged the status quo.
Mr. President, I am not just grateful for what Bill Proxmire did for
our state, and our country, but for the many things that he taught me.
He was a tireless representative for our state. Watching Proxmire, you
couldn’t help but learn how important it was to listen –
really listen – to the people you represent, and how much you
can learn from that genuine exchange of ideas. When Bill Proxmire hit
the campaign trail, it wasn’t about a barrage of expensive ads.
It was about connecting with voters and giving them a chance to have
their say – even when they said something you didn’t agree
with. As he once joked, “The biggest danger for a politician is
to shake hands with a man who is physically stronger, has been drinking
and is voting for the other guy." And he knew that from experience,
Mr. President, because nobody shook more hands than Bill Proxmire.
And the people of Wisconsin loved him for it. After an early career
of some tough defeats, once he won, he just kept on winning, with re-election
margins of 71% of the vote in 1970, 73% in 1976 and 65% in 1982, when
he ran for a fifth six-year term. Incredibly, Mr. President, in those
last two reelection campaigns he was re-elected despite refusing contributions
altogether. A lot of the money he did spend in his campaigns was on
postage to return donations.
As somebody who wanted to run for public office myself, as somebody
who kept being asked again and again, “where are you going to
get the money to run?”, Bill Proxmire gave me hope. His example
helped me to believe that you can run on ideas, not just on money. And
that example didn’t just help me in my runs for office, but it
helped inspire me in the long fight for the McCain-Feingold campaign
finance reform bill, and the ongoing fight against the undue influence
of money in politics.
His example of real shoe-leather campaigning went hand in hand with
his work on open government. He didn’t just want to be accessible
himself, he thought all of government should be open and responsive
to the people it served. In this, as in so many things, he represented
the true spirit of Wisconsin, which pioneered laws in this area. He
once said that “Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised
in secret, especially under the cloak of national security, is doubly
dangerous." Today, as we struggle for openness and oversight on
national security issues, I think his words have never been more true,
and open, accountable government has never been more important.
And then, Mr. President, there’s Bill Proxmire’s lesson
in courage. How many times did he stand on this floor and say what needed
to be said, truly representing the people back home, saying what they
would say if they stood here themselves, about boondoggle projects,
or the importance of open government? Here was a man who knew what mattered,
and knew how to bring attention to a cause no one else was championing.
He was perhaps most famous for his Golden Fleece Awards, where he put
the spotlight on the kind of waste that, unfortunately, we still see
too much of in the Senate today. While most members just let waste pass
by unnoticed, Proxmire was unrelenting. Here are a couple choice examples
of Golden Fleece winners, Mr. President:
*to the National Institute of Dental Research in April 1984: For sponsoring
a $465,000 study on the "effects of orthodontia on psycho-social
functioning."
*to 190 federal officials in September 1982: For door-to-door chauffeur
service costing $3.4 million.
*to the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration in February 1977:
For a $27,000 study of why prison inmates want to escape.
I think that last one says it all, Mr. President, about why the Golden
Fleece awards struck such a chord with the American public. There’s
a lot of numbness in Washington to wasteful spending, but Bill Proxmire
wasn’t numb to it – he was outraged by it. He had the innate
aversion to waste that the American people have – people who have
to sit down at their kitchen tables, work out a budget, and decide what
they can afford, and what they can’t. They think that if they
have to do this, we should to. So Senator Proxmire stood up and demanded
a little common sense, and a measure of discipline for the federal budget.
It was very courageous, Mr. President, and very representative of the
people who sent him here, I can tell you.
This is a very sad day for our state, Mr. President. But it is also
a day to reflect on the Proxmire legacy, and to be proud of the impact
he made on our state, and on the nation. He was a fighter – literally
and figuratively. He was a college boxing champ who managed to hold
off two people who tried to mug him near the Capitol, and then helped
in a dragnet that led to their arrest. He was a proud veteran, a newspaper
reporter, and a dogged campaigner who lost three races for office --
and was written off by a lot of people in Wisconsin politics –
before he won the race to fill the seat of Senator Joe McCarthy after
McCarthy died in 1957.
He was as determined as they come, Mr. President, and it was that quality
that served him so well during his years in this body. It continued
to serve him all his life, even as he fought a long and difficult battle
against Alzheimer’s disease. His wife Ellen, his children and
grandchildren are in all of our thoughts today. As we remember William
Proxmire, and all that he did, I feel deeply proud that he represented
my state. He did great honor to the state of Wisconsin by personifying
the highest standards of public service in this country. So I humbly
honor his memory, and express my gratitude for his outstanding service
to our nation, and to our democracy.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
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