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Before Donald Schmidt unfairly attacks U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, I thought it would be helpful if Schmidt got a few of his facts straight.
When Ron was a student intern for Sen. Bill Proxmire, he investigated many of Proxmire’s “Golden Fleece Awards” for wasteful government spending. Ron voted against this year’s Omnibus Budget because it contained more than 8,000 earmarks. Ron, in his many attempts to reduce government spending, does not request earmarks for this congressional district.
He also has returned to the federal treasury almost $1.1 million from his office budget through savings and efficiencies that can only be used to reduce our national debt. He is refusing to take a cost of living increase in his salary yet again this year, as he has in previous years, and voted to prevent any COLA increase from taking effect next year.
Ron is also the leading voice in Congress to establish an outside Fiscal Commission to develop a plan to address our long-term unfunded obligations. He is a leader on the need to further reform congressional earmarks, knowing that it is a bipartisan problem in need of a bipartisan solution.
I would agree with Schmidt in two regards: Ron “has always been professional and courteous” and we need more “Proxmire-prodigies” in Congress, such as U.S. Rep. Ron Kind.
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