Perry calls for government overhaul

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry said today that if elected he would end lifetime appointments for federal judges and slash the pay for members of Congress in half.

In a speech laying out how he would "uproot and overhaul" Washington, the Texas governor suggested that his Washington outsider background — unlike some of his GOP rivals — would help him succeed at changing the city's culture. Changing Washington also was one of President Barack Obama's goals and he's had no success on that front since taking office.

"Unique to the Republican field, I have never been an establishment figure, have never served in Congress or part of an administration and have never been a paid lobbyist," Perry said. "My career has been that of a Washington outsider."

Until he jumped into the presidential race in August, Perry spent his entire political career in his home state of Texas.

The plan Perry rolled out at a heating and cooling company in Iowa also calls for requiring a two-thirds vote in Congress for any tax increases and halting all proposed federal regulations.