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                      AN AMERICA THAT HEALS (chapter six)

The two most difficult divisions we face as a people are over abortion and
race. These divisions are so deep and so ingrained that they require more than
a paragraph in this book or more than a soundbite on the evening news. I don't
expect to change any minds or win any hearts; I do ask that you read and
reflect.


                       A NATIONAL COMPROMISE ON ABORTION

My personal position on abortion is well-known, but I will restate it just to
make sure there's no confusion:

* I support a woman's right to have an abortion. It is the woman's choice.

* I support encouragement of adoption as an alternative to abortion.

* I support federal funding of reproductive counseling and education that can
help prevent unwanted pregnancies so that fewer women will have to face this
difficult decision.

* I support federal funding of abortions for poor women. Since these women
have already made the decision, for public health reasons we should ensure
that the procedure is done safely.

I believe it is time for Congress to codify these positions into law.

We're thinking, reasoning human beings. Each human life is a precious gift. We
should not create a human life unless we're willing to take responsibility for
it. It is irresponsible for two people to create a human life they don't want.
For democracy to work, for this nation to be whole, every single one of us has
to take responsibility for his or her actions.

This is the deepest moral question of our times precisely because it is about
human life. It is time for moral leadership to heal the rift, to set a new
standard of personal responsibility, and to turn both sides toward the
enormous task of protecting and nurturing our children.


                         A NATIONAL COMMITMENT ON RACE

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." Many people know Abraham
Lincoln said that just before the Civil War. Fewer people recall that he was
quoting scripture. What a timeless message and simple truth.

We are divided by racial strife. We're a divided team in worldwide competition
against united teams.

We must reunite. I break this down into three approaches. First, we ought to
love one another. That takes care of most of us. Second, for those who can't
quite lift themselves up to that level, we have to get along with one another
so we can team up and win. Third, for the hard-core haters, we're stuck with
one another. Nobody is going anywhere. We're here, side by side. You might as
well move up to category two so we can win, not lose, as a nation.

Our two political parties try to divide our country to win elections. The
Democrats go after the black and brown vote. Republicans go after the white
vote. Then each professes to be distraught and uncomprehending when we don't
unite after the election. They try to win by playing to fear and suspicion.
Then they try to govern by being gentler and kinder.

The melting pot is our strength, not our weakness. Our culture is dynamic
because it is varied. Our nation became the envy of the world because it is a
unique tapestry woven of many strands drawn from every part of the globe.

I am not closing my eyes to the real world. I realize that some groups have
advantages and that others have disadvantages, but we don't pull anyone up by
pulling somebody else down. We're all in the same boat, and we will sink or
sail together.

The law must be color-blind. Justice must be colorblind.

Where there are disadvantages, we must put our brains and our resources into
helping people overcome them. In Chapter Five, I said we must put a ladder
down into the worst areas of our inner cities. We must lend a hand in making
sure children are able to reach the first rung on that ladder. This is the
kind of affirmative action that works. We don't need to promote less qualified
people over more qualified people. What we need is more qualified people. If
we're to compete effectively, we need millions of more qualified people.

Unless we repair our economy, those who are down can expect to stay down. We
need to repair our job creating engine. That's where we need to direct our
energies. The NAACP should make it a goal to make black small business owners
heroes to their neighbors. These are the ladder builders for the next
generation.

This is not the problem of one community. It is a problem for our country, and
we can turn it into an opportunity for our country. Our commitment must be to
become one team again. On a team every member contributes. Only a team intent
on losing tells some of its members to sit on the sidelines. We need to bring
everyone off the bench and on to the field. Whatever it takes, we should do
it. In the long run it's the only way we are all going to win.


                            A NATION WORKING TOGETHER

If you're pro-life, think over my position, then ask a friend who is
pro-choice to read it and think it over. Then discuss it together. Can't we do
more to solve this problem by working together than by fighting one another?
What more could we do? You two talk it over. Start with where you agree. We
already know where you disagree.

If you're white, read my position here and in Chapter Five. Show it to friends
who are black or Hispanic or Asian, and ask them to think it over. Is it
enough? What more can we do? Argue over it. This is the kind of open, positive
debate we've avoided for too long. We shouldn't be embarrassed to talk about
race. We've tried to sweep these problems under the rug for so long the floor
has risen a couple of inches. It's time to talk to one another.

We cannot expect our political leaders to lead where the people will not
follow. However, it seems to me that the people are ready and willing to put
these divisions behind us. Since these issues are also enmeshed in government
policy, we should demand that our candidates for public offices undertake the
moral responsibility of helping us to heal.



                       AN AMERICA THAT LEADS (chapter seven)

What does America stand for? Only a few years ago we were the exemplar of
nations. America set the pace for the world in inventiveness, in creating
jobs, in raising living standards. Abroad, we shaped the trading and monetary
systems as master of a smooth-running economy, as custodians of a strong
currency and as financiers of the world. Our economic might underwrote peace
and prosperity. It provided the military strength to repel Soviet threats to
democracy. It provided for the resurrection of the great nations in Europe and
the Pacific. It became the global engine of reform, of growth, of hope for the
future.

The world once looked to us with wonder. Now they look at us and wonder.
Foreign leaders are alarmed by our runaway debt, our social problems, our
failing educational system. They express chagrin, and sometimes even contempt,
at our political leadership.

Only an economically strong United States can preserve world peace, promote
democracy, encourage expanding markets, and serve as a beacon of promise for
the potential of mankind.


                                 START AT HOME

Our highest foreign-policy priority is to get our house in order and make
America work again. This is not isolationism or nationalism. It is common
sense. The world needs a strong, purposeful United States. We cannot lead
others or be a reliable partner if we are weak and divided at home. Getting
the American house in order is the point of departure for a new American
foreign policy.

Second, we must realize that far too many of our foreign policy structures are
based on doctrines of the 1940s. They are old and out of date. We need to
create new structures for the 1990s and the new century. That means changing a
lot of things. We must restructure the White House staff and the organization
of the state and defense departments. We must update our security arrangements
and rethink overseas deployments. We must reform the alphabet soup of
international agencies we have put in place over the past fifty years to deal
with the world that used to be from the UN to NATO, GATT, IMF, and the World
Bank.

We have much to change to provide for a foreign policy in keeping with the
needs of the world that is, rather than the world that was. Too much taxpayer
money and administrative effort is being needlessly consumed by outdated
policies and outdated structures.


                               EMPHASIZE TRADE

For far too long, Washington has maintained an artificial distinction between
domestic and international policy. The "high" politics of defense and
diplomacy has received too much attention at the expense of the "low" politics
of the economy and jobs. To succeed in the world of today, we must view
domestic and foreign policy in terms of a single, interwoven net of national
interests.

America's position in the world today depends as much on the productivity of
our labor and the performance of our schools as it does on the number of
missiles in our arsenal. At the same time we cannot achieve our goals of
rebuilding our country without having trade and financial cooperation with
other nations.

Trade means jobs. Fair and equitable trade means more jobs. Jobs mean a higher
standard of living, a healthier economy and a lower deficit. That produces a
stronger America that can buy more from our allies. An American policy of fair
and equitable trade is good for all nations.

We must be frank about our trade position. It cannot be improved by making
excuses or berating others who out compete us.

Too often, our political and business leaders seem to respond only by
complaining. They whine and bluster. That's the response of losers.

It's time that Americans responded like winners. We should replace the
political appointees who are sent from Washington to fail to negotiate
advantageous agreements. We need to put in their place experienced, hard-nosed
negotiators from outside politics who know how to achieve good deals.

We need to learn from the Japanese and the Europeans. They are not our
enemies. They are our allies. However, they are tough competitors. We just
have to get our act together so that we can out compete them fair and square.
Also, we have to negotiate harder. The Europeans and the Japanese out
negotiate us at every turn in trade talks.


                            GET MOVING IN THE PACIFIC

To the Japanese, I would say this: we will get our house in order as you and
all our allies have suggested. In turn, we demand that you share more fully in
keeping the world safe for future generations.

You must shoulder more of the burden of stationing U.S. troops and ships in
your region. You must cooperate with us on the environment, on rebuilding the
former Soviet Union, in multinational peacekeeping efforts, in defusing
nuclear risks, in sharing in the burden of handling refugees, and in creating
conditions for global economic growth, including in the United States. We can
no longer accept the excuse that the Japanese are unique or different. We are
all citizens of the world.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, we must pursue markets aggressively. The USA is as
economically integrated into the Pacific as Germany is in the European
Community. Japan is our second largest trading partner. Beyond Japan are
China, Korea, and other Asian countries. All told, we trade 30 percent more
across the Pacific than we do across the Atlantic. The Asian/ Pacific region
is the fastest growing sector of the world economy. If we are smart, we can
sell a lot of American products there. We must place a high emphasis on
penetrating the vast markets of the Pacific basin.

China deserves special attention as a remaining bastion of communism. The
present administration has spent its time coddling a geriatric central
government when the real action is taking place in the provinces. Beijing
still may be playing the old communist song, but the provinces are dancing to
capitalist tunes. While we talk to a deaf leadership, free markets are
developing all across the country. They have solid examples close at hand.
Hong Kong is already the tenth largest economy in the world. Taiwan has the
largest foreign exchange reserves in the world. The 63 million people of
Guangdong Province are becoming voracious consumers. We must construct a
diplomacy that deals with the complexity of this vast land and advances an
agenda of democracy. Someone once said that free markets produce free minds.
Through a concerted policy of engagement we can help the Chinese people attain
their goals of political liberty and democratic institutions. Once open to
free trade, a door can't be shut to free thought.

We must also begin thinking of new ways to share the burden of maintaining
peace in the Pacific. At present, the security of the region is maintained by
five security agreements that we maintain under bilateral agreements. There is
no collective security device like NATO in the Pacific.

It will take perhaps a generation, if not more, to devise collective security
measures that encompass cultures as different as Japan and China, India and
Indonesia. We must begin discussions now. Unlike the current administration,
the next one must think more progressively on this front.


                           BUILD ON SUCCESS IN EUROPE

We must nurture our successes across the Atlantic. NATO is the most successful
military alliance in history. Yet we must not hang on to NATO just for the
sake of preserving a venerable institution. It is time to develop a successor
mechanism.

There are risks in Europe. All is not milk and honey there. That said,
Europeans are better equipped than ever to manage those risks.

We can no longer make the argument that U.S. forces are needed in Europe to
provide front-line protection of the United States.

We cannot justify using U.S. taxpayers' money to station troops on German soil
to protect Western Europe from potential intra-European strife. The
Europeans -thanks in part to our presence for the past 45 years- have the
ability to do this themselves. Everyone is aware of the age-old tensions that
occasionally raise their ugly heads in Europe. Keeping U.S. troops on European
soil to ward off those historical impulses in the age of democracy is akin to
a parent leaving a light on in a child's room at night to ward off ghosts. It
is hard to justify "night light" troops at U.S. taxpayer expense.

We will not withdraw completely from Europe. We will stand ready to come to
the aid of our European allies. However, we want them to take the lead and
bear the lion's share of the burden in providing for their own security.

The former Soviet Union presents an unusual burden and a special
responsibility for the United States and the rest of the world. the breakup of
the Soviet empire is fraught with crises. Nationalism and ethnic strife are
inevitable consequences of the unwinding of artificial geographic and cultural
arrangements imposed by Stalin and his successors. There is potential for
nuclear mischief. There is a real danger that reform will fail.

My policy toward the Commonwealth of Independent States would be to work both
unilaterally and closely with the European, the Japanese, and collective
agencies like the U.N. to:

1. Put nuclear warheads out of commission wherever they are. Our negotiators
continue to concentrate on missile delivery systems, a vestige of Cold War
arms control. The warheads are the primary threat. We cannot rest until all
warheads in the four nuclear CIS states are accounted for and under control;

2. Contain any imperialistic tendencies harbored by any of the former Soviet
territories;

3. Send appropriate aid, technology, support personnel, and other items needed
to build a bulwark for liberty. Make sure the channels are established to
administer our help selectively, instead of allowing it to be wasted by state
enterprises or poorly conceived projects.


                            WORK WITH LATIN AMERICA

The failure of Soviet communism has put an end to Leninist imitators in the
American hemisphere. Castro is the sole holdout in this part of the world. We
must continue to isolate Castro. Elsewhere in Latin America we must continue
to encourage the transition to market capitalism. We are profiting from the
democratization and privatization of Latin economies. This is largely because
we are the leading producer of goods used to build nations, like telephone
switches, trucks and aircraft.

American exports to South America grew 20 percent last year. Jobs are being
created to fill those orders. I want to make sure that this expansion of
American jobs continues. I want to make sure it is not a temporary thing. This
is why I want to examine the Mexican trade agreement closely.

This trade agreement presents an exciting opportunity for both our nations. I
applaud the tremendous progress the Mexican government has made under
President Salinas in revitalizing a tired, socialized economy. In five years
Mexico has privatized 75 percent of its state-run enterprises. Always a
deservedly proud nation, Mexico has earned the admiration of the world.

Challenges remain. In Mexico, workers are paid between one and two dollars an
hour. Environmental and pollution regulations are laxly enforced. Health care
for workers is rarely provided. The challenge is to create a trade agreement
that helps Mexico to continue to pull itself up but that does not pull us
down. I do not want a trade agreement that trades away jobs. I want a trade
agreement that creates good paying permanent jobs on both sides of the border.

I fully understand why our own Hispanic community so strongly supports trade
ties with Mexico. This community is a marvelous resource with its ability to
act as a bridge between two dynamic cultures. We should commit to putting that
bridge in place and make sure the road over it runs both ways.


                  ACHIEVE PEACE IN AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

On the other side of the world, Africa must not be neglected. Once treated as
pawns by the two superpowers, the undeveloped countries of the sub-Sahara
region now have the best opportunity in the post-colonial era to establish
independent democratic institutions and free markets. Already the most
prosperous nation on the continent, South Africa deserves American support as
it makes a successful transition to true democracy and sheds the shameful
vestiges of apartheid. Together with the Europeans and Asians, we must work
hard to see that democratization succeeds in South Africa and that lasting
economic progress finally takes root in the sub-Sahara region of the
continent.

For the past fifty years, United States policy in the Middle East has been
geared to preventing the area from falling under control of any power that
might threaten our vital interests. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and
local governments acting as its agent were of particular concern to us. Today,
we must remain vigilant against actions of other powers whose interests in the
region are opposed to ours.

Since its founding as a nation, Israel has been our staunchest ally in the
region. Our support for an Israel secure from external threat goes beyond the
noble sentiment of friendship. Israel is of strategic importance to the United
States. During the Cold War, she was a bulwark against Soviet aggression in
the Middle East. In the aftermath of the Cold War, Israel is a beacon of
democracy in a region populated largely by dictatorships and monarchies. We
must remain committed to the continued defense and support of Israel
militarily, diplomatically, and financially in order to secure the prospect
for democracy in the region.

Israel's long-term security and overall stability in the Middle East depends
on the successful resolution of an Arab-Israeli peace agreement from which all
parties benefit. We must continue to work tirelessly with all governments of
the region to reach a lasting peace.


                             DON'T ENCOURAGE TYRANTS

While we now have the luxury of defining our foreign policy needs largely in
economic terms, we must remember that there are still military threats to our
nation's security. The world of the 1990s is unfortunately populated by
brilliant, psychotic despots who are not against cannibalizing civilization to
advance their own agendas. The list is well known -- Saddam in Iraq, Qaddafi
in Libya, Assad in Syria, Kim in North Korea, and Castro in Cuba. This list
may be tragically expanded by renegade forces in the former Soviet territories
if chaos ensues.

We should follow consistent policies toward rogue governments. I would treat
outlaws for what they are. Where America's vital interests are not impacted, I
expect others to take the lead in containing these renegades, with our
support. The UN and other collective agencies must be involved. We should
reserve the right, in consultation with Congress, to take into our own
muscular hands any rogue government that threatens vital American interests.

The most effective way to deal with criminal states is not to encourage them
in the first place. If we don't like brutal third world dictators, we
shouldn't help create another one. We supported General Noriega. We sent him
weapons, millions of dollars, and flattering letters. We inflated him until
his ego ballooned out of control. It now turns out that we were doing the same
thing with Saddam Hussein. These cases didn't just cost us money. They cost us
something far more precious: the lives of American soldiers.

We could have avoided all this if we had followed Winston Churchill's simple
advice: "Never cozy up with tyrants. They'll always turn on you."


                                DEMAND A NEW VISION

The world is at a crucial turning point in history. We must seize the moment
and turn frightful risks into great opportunities. Just as we must embrace
bold programs to repair our economy, our cities and our schools, we must move
bravely on the world stage. The American people should demand more of their
presidential candidates than debates on the fine points of diplomacy. They
should insist that each candidate provide a vision of a new architecture for a
new world. They should demand blueprints for action.

When he was suddenly faced with the opportunity to make the Louisiana
Purchase, Thomas Jefferson didn't take a poll. He acted.

When he was confronted by the devastation of Western Europe after the war,
Harry Truman didn't hesitate. He acted.

An American President is supposed to be able to see past the moment. He should
be able to see history in the making. He should be capable for shaping history
in America's interest.

That is the standard by which our Presidents should be measured.



                                   AFTERWARD

The Perot phenomenon that swept the country through the spring and summer of
1992 had little to do with me. It was a spontaneous grassroots outpouring that
has transformed a deep-seated concern with our political system into a
positive citizen movement for reform.

Others campaigning for office will try to capitalize on your efforts. A person
doesn't become a politician without learning how to dance the two-step. I hope
many of them will do more than try to play to the crowd. I hope they will
listen to the roar of the crowd. Those who don't, or who try to get by with
the two-step, should be defeated.

I'm talking about all of our elected officials who have allowed this great
system to be mired in the mud of special interests, who have padded themselves
with perks at our expense, and who have rigged the election system to avoid
answering to the people.

We don't need term limits as long as we have the ballot. If in this upcoming
election we demand that candidates face up to the real issues that confront
us, you can be sure that after the election members of the House and Senate
will continue to listen to this country's owners. The reforms we so
desperately need will be enacted quickly. That's the glory of our
Constitution. Our elected officials listen, or they become former officials.
The grassroots movement that put me on the ballot in state after state has
sent a message too strong to ignore. Volunteers did it, and they did it
without the support of any established party, any political machine, or any
special interest group. That amazing achievement has already jolted the
political establishment. The little group of Washington insiders, lobbyists,
and professional politicians who thought of the national government as their
own private playground are waking up to the fact that this country doesn't
belong to them.

The Appendix has a list of topics important to this country. All the
candidates need to know that you care about these issues and that you will
vote according to their positions on them. Ask the candidates what they will
do about the items on the list. Remember what they say. Hold them accountable
once they're elected.

There are five principles which animated this movement from the beginning and
which will carry it through Election Day and beyond. These principles are the
themes that underlie this book. I hope they will someday underlie the
governing of this country.

One. The people are the owners of this country. Everyone in government, from
the President of the United States to the newest employee in a small town,
works for the people.

Two. All of us must take personal responsibility for our actions and for the
actions of our government. Citizenship in the United States is a privilege
that can only be safeguarded by its exercise.

Three. We are a single team. The task ahead is enormous. We are all needed in
the rebuilding of America.

Four. We can't keep living beyond our means. The size of government must be
permanently reduced. The deficit must be eliminated. We can handle shared
sacrifice. We cannot survive an irresponsible government.

Five. Our greatest challenge is economic competition. Our governmental
policies should be redirected to stimulate growth, to encourage the private
sector, to create jobs, and to open opportunities for all Americans.

                                   *   *   *

Alexis de Tocqueville crossed the Atlantic in 1831 to observe the growing
power called the United States. He summed up his two-volume study by saying,
"America is great because its people are good." Nothing has changed. I saw
this in the last several months by working with thousands of people from all
walks of life. America's strength is its people. You are deeply patriotic,
creative, and dedicated. You are filled with love for your country. You are
brimming with ideas. You are determined to leave a better country to your
children. You are at one with the spirit of our forefathers.

When the Founders signed the Declaration of Independence, they pledged their
lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. They were deadly serious in
making that pledge. When they picked up the quill pen to place their names on
that document, they did so with the certain knowledge that it could cost them
their lives.

One signer, John Hart, was driven from the bedside of his dying wife by an
English patrol sent to capture him. His thirteen children scattered and fled
for their lives. He lived in the fields and the forests and in caves, eluding
the enemy, until the end of the war. When he returned home, his wife was dead,
his house was burnt to the ground, his farm was destroyed, and his children
were nowhere to be found. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a
broken heart.

Compared to that, what are the minor sacrifices we are called upon to make to
pull our nation out of bankruptcy, to restore our spirit, and to put America
on a new course for our children's future?

Our political leaders have been afraid to ask those sacrifices of the American
people. This is one more case where the people see more clearly than the
leaders do. The people have rightly resisted minor adjustments, knowing that
the hands writing the laws were being guided by special interests seeking
preference for one group over another. They are crying out for a plan like the
one laid out in this book that distributes the burden carefully on all but the
weakest shoulders so that together we can pull this nation out of the mire. We
can no longer expect our political leaders to have the strength or the courage
to do it. Only the people can give them the power.

Only the people can keep faith with our forefathers. We owe everything we have
to them. Today in India or Ecuador or Togo there are people who are as bright,
as capable, and as ambitious as any of us. They will never have the chance to
do something great with their marvelous talents. No matter how smart or able
they are, they will never have the opportunity because they weren't born in
the country our forefathers founded.

Only the people can keep faith with those who have already sacrificed so much
for our country. I didn't make the navy my career. Many of my classmates at
the Naval Academy did. Some of them died defending our country. Some of them
spent years of their lives in prison camps, never bending an inch in devotion
to our country. I went into business. Most of you went to school, raised a
family, entered a profession, or got a good-paying job. They could have gone
that same route, but they didn't. They served their country.

Only the people can keep faith with our fathers and mothers. Mario Cuomo's
father worked his way to these shores and worked at menial jobs until he was
able to bring over his wife and children. Today his son is the governor of New
York. Other more established families lost everything in the Great Depression.
Some mothers and fathers who were people of distinction and achievement went
to work as fieldhands to keep their children fed and clothed. Some scraped
enough money together so at least one child could go to college. The
sacrifices made by that generation compose one of the brightest chapters of
nobility in the annals of human history.

Only the people can keep faith with our children. In the 1960s, our standard
of living doubled every generation and a half. Parents who worked on a farm
could send a child to college and live to see their grandchildren build
successful businesses. At our present low growth rate, it will take twelve
generations for our standard of living to double. The children of a child born
this year will be dead before our standard of living doubles again.

We have broken the faith we owe to our children. The politicians can't restore
it. Only the people can.

Only the people, the owners of this country, can make America strong again.

The Founders believed in the people. They knew in their hearts and souls that
each generation would have to work to pass on a greater nation to the next
generation.

Only the people can remake our country.

Time is short. History is merciless. The whole world waits for your decision.



                                  APPENDIX

Check List for All Federal Candidates

We would like to have your specific plans to:

_____ Eliminate the deficit

_____ Keep the budget balanced through binding legislation

_____ Pay off the national debt

_____ Rebuild the job base and put our people back to work

_____ Develop an intelligent, supportive relationship between government and business

_____ Develop strategic plans industry by industry to strengthen and rebuild our companies

_____ Target the industries of the future and develop specific plans to be the
      world leader in those industries

_____ Stimulate the growth of small businesses

_____ Maintain and build our manufacturing base

_____ Make "Made in the USA" the world's standard of excellence

_____ Rebuild our cities

_____ Make our public schools the finest in the world

_____ Get rid of illegal drugs

_____ Dramatically reduce crime and violence throughout our country

_____ Provide affordable health care

_____ Get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government

_____ Develop a new tax system that is fair, paperless for most Americans, and raises
      the money necessary to pay our country's bills

_____ Get rid of foreign lobbyists and foreign political contributions

_____ Develop fair free-trade agreements

_____ Pass laws prohibiting cashing in on prior government service

_____ Develop an intelligent energy policy

_____ Implement the line item veto for the President

_____ Pass laws to stop Congress from exempting itself from laws it imposes on the rest
      of the country

_____ Bring the congressional retirement plan in line with private-sector plans

_____ Pass laws requiring the return of all excess campaign funds to the U.S. Treasury

_____ Pass laws to reduce the time for federal elections, reduce the cost of federal
      campaigns, and create equal opportunity for all new candidates by providing equal
      television time for all candidates

_____ Replace the electoral college with the popular vote Pass laws eliminating all
      possibilities for special interests to give large sums of money to candidates

_____ Pass a law to hold elections on Saturday and Sunday, instead of Tuesday

_____ Pass a law forbidding release of election information before the polls in Hawaii
      close

_____ Slash staffs in the executive and legislative branches Get rid of unnecessary
      perks throughout the federal government.