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In Memoriam: Senator Proxmire, 1915-2005

WHI 34251

William Proxmire, first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1957 and who represented Wisconsin until 1988, died this morning, December 15, at a long-term care facility in Maryland. He was 90. He had suffered from Alzheimer's disease in recent years.

Proxmire was a tireless campaigner, shaking hands and meeting people all over the state, and seldom spending much money to be re-elected. Widely regarded as a political maverick, Proxmire was known for his devotion to curbing governmental waste and mismanagement, issuing a monthly "Golden Fleece Award" for that month's most "wasteful, ridiculous or ironic use of the taxpayers' money." He chaired the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee, and served as subcommittee chairman on the Senate Appropriations Committee. From 1967 to 1986 Proxmire also gave daily speeches on the Senate floor in support of the international genocide treaty, finally ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1988.

Learn more about the life and career of Senator William Proxmire:

• Read Proxmire's testimony against genocide.
• See photographs from Proxmire's career.
• Read Proxmire's newsletter from Washington.
• Audio of a speech by Willaim Proxmire on WIBA Radio, Madison, WI June 22, 1951, replying the rebuttal to a speech previously done by US Senator Joeseph R. McCarthy on Truman administration foreign policy.

:: Posted December 15, 2005