Washington ? Former Vice President Walter Mondale and Sen. Ted Kennedy on Saturday saluted the late Wisconsin Sen. William Proxmire as a tenacious worker and moral crusader.

Proxmire, a Democrat best known for fighting government waste with his mocking “Golden Fleece” awards, died in December at the age of 90 after battling Alzheimer’s disease.

At a memorial service at Washington National Cathedral that was attended by about 350 people, Mondale called Proxmire a tireless “checks-and-balances machine.”

Mondale, a Minnesota Democrat who served in the Senate with Proxmire from before becoming vice president in 1977, paid tribute to Proxmire’s enviable work ethic.

Kennedy, D-Mass., noted that Proxmire cast more than 10,000 votes in a row over two decades. “A Lou Gehrig record that no one will ever break, unless Cal Ripken wins a Senate seat,” Kennedy said.