A week after famously forgetting what three federal departments he would cut during a debate with his fellow hopefuls for the Republican presidential nomination, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas unveiled his plans Tuesday to cut the federal government.
Perry spoke in Bettendorf, Iowa -- the state that will hold the first presidential caucus on Jan. 3. There, he unveiled his Uproot and Overhaul Washington agenda and stressed the idea that he is a political outsider.
"Washington is too broken to be fixed by tinkering on the margins," Perry said. "I do not believe Washington needs a new coat of paint. It needs a complete overhaul. We need to uproot, tear down and rebuild Washington, D.C., and our federal institutions.
"Washington is so broken, Americans will accept nothing less than a complete overhaul of the way business is done in America," Perry continued. We need new leadership. We need a new builder. We need a Washington outsider. Unique to the Republican field, I have never been an establishment figure. My career has been that of a Washington outsider."
In his plan, Perry calls for reforming the judicial branch, including pushing a constitutional amendment ending the lifetime appointments of all unelected federal judges, including members of the Supreme Court of the United States. Perry vows to champion a constitutional amendment to prospectively institute 18-year terms for the Supreme Court, staggered every two years, so that justices are replaced in order of seniority every other year.
Taking a page from Lamar Alexanders playbook when the Tennessee politician ran for the Republican nomination in 1996, Perry also took aim at Congress, calling for slashing congressional budgets and salaries by half and making the legislative branch a part-time body. Perrys plan also includes a provision of another pay reduction and freezing the salaries of federal civilian employees in 2020 if Congress has not passed a balanced budget.
"Congress is out of touch because congressmen are overpaid, overstaffed and away from home too much," Perry insisted. "It's time to create a part-time Congress where their pay is cut in half, their office budgets are cut in half, and their time in Washington is cut in half. And if they do not submit a budget that balances by 2020 as my plan calls for, we should cut their pay in half again."
Perry also railed against reports that members of Congress have benefited from insider trading.
"Congress has proven it can't be trusted to watch our money, and now it's clear they can't be trusted with theirs, Perry said. Any congressman or senator that uses their insider knowledge to profit in the stock market ought to be sent to jail -- period."
Perrys plan also calls for ending bailouts, congressional earmarks and capping federal spending to 18 percent of the gross domestic product. The Texas governor promises to push for a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. He also hopes to establish a law requiring a congressional two-thirds supermajority to pass any tax increases. Perry vows to end federal funding of Planned Parenthood and stop any unfunded mandates on state and local governments.
Moving on to the executive branch, Perry plans to eliminate the departments of Commerce and Education -- and added Energy, the department he forgot in last weeks debate. He also called for dramatic changes for theEnvironmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration.
"We will perform a full audit of the federal government, and there will be no sacred cows, including wasteful spending at the Department of Defense, where every dollar we spend should support our war fighters around the world," Perry said. "And we will say to every bureaucrat: no salary increases until the federal budget is balanced. And because a president must lead by example, we should cut his salary in half until the budget is balanced."
Perrys plan calls for restructuring the federal government and backs the idea of privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He also vows to freeze all pending regulations and review all of those established since 2008.
"No longer will we prop up failed entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were at the heart of the economic collapse because of mortgage financing policies that gave false confidence to homebuyers who have now defaulted or are under water," said Perry. "We will privatize Fannie and Freddie so politicians can no longer politicize them, and taxpayers will no longer be fleeced by them."
While Perry rocketed to the top of national and some state polls after announcing back in August that he was running, he has since dropped in the polls after a series of unimpressive debate performances.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
