Sen. William Proxmire (1915-2005)

Former Sen. William Proxmire has died at the age of 90.

Proxmire was elected US Senator from Wisconsin in 1957, taking over the seat after the death of Sen. Joe McCarthy. He served until 1988 when he retired, and Sen. Herb Kohl was elected to fill the seat.

Proxmire became well known for his Golden Fleece Awards which were used to identify wasteful spending in the federal budget. Today's wild spending Congress could use more senators like Proxmire.

Rest in peace, Senator.