Julian Bond: “I will be happy to talk with the Senator later about that. Let me continue with some of the comments that I have in…”

“I will be happy to talk with the Senator later about that. Let me continue with some of the comments that I have in general, that are applicable to all these amendments. Within this budget, in our committee and other committees, we have identified at the request of many Senators in the States, including the State of Oklahoma, including the States of Alaska, Washington, Missouri--priorities in the report to be eligible for funds under the Economic Development Initiatives Account, subject to Department review. My colleague, who is the author of this amendment, proposes that these are necessarily bad. I suspect, if we looked State by State, we would have 100 different definitions of how precisely to prioritize these initiatives. The suggestion here is that Senators should not have any say in what is important in their States. My profession is serving the people of Missouri. I have been doing it for 27 years now. I do not have the skills or the expertise that the author of this amendment does. He, as I understand it, is a fine obstetrician. His commitment is to a high humanitarian calling, serving people in the obstetrics field. Certainly that is a fine profession. I envy his ability to deliver assistance and deliver babies. We need professionals of this type. That is his profession. My profession is very different. I don't have the skills of a physician or an engineer or a physical scientist. My job, my profession, is serving the people of Missouri.…”