U.S. Senate candidate Mark Neumann makes a Madison stop. The former congressman was in the Capitol rotunda Thursday to highlight more cuts he’d like to see made in wasteful government spending. “Did you know for example, that we are spending federal tax dollars studying the relationship between cocaine and the risky sex habits of Japanese quail? It is absolutely ridiculous.” Or how about ten million dollars to produce 130 episodes of Pakistani Sesame Street? Neumann outlined ten programs he’d eliminate or cut for a savings of 138 million dollars, part of an ongoing look at federal waste. “We’re up to 92 specific line-item entries, and we’ve done a write-up on each one of those at this point,” says Neumann. “The magnitude of what we’re proposing here overall gets to a point where you almost need notes each one, because there are so many wasteful programs in the federal government.”
AUDIO: Neumann press conference (7:30)
Neumann will face former Governor Tommy Thompson and Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald in a Republican primary. The winner will face congresswoman Tammy Baldwin for the Senate seat being vacated by Herb Kohl. He says this sort of analysis sets him apart from former Governor Tommy Thompson. “In the business world . . . you have to write these plans and then you have to be held accountable for the plans you write,” says Neumann. “That’s how it works in the private sector, and it illustrates the differences between Tommy Thompson and myself. It’s a background difference.”
Neumann also picked up the endorsements of State Treasurer Kurt Schuller and former treasurer Jack Voight.
