Jeff Flake: “I'd simply repeat what I said. Virtually every district in the country can accurately say that certain parts of their…”

“I'd simply repeat what I said. Virtually every district in the country can accurately say that certain parts of their district are economically depressed. We simply don't have enough money in the Federal Treasury to address all those needs. So our decision is how do we adequately and equitably distribute funds to the Federal Government. If we make the decision that Federal agencies should fund these projects, then we should stick to the process that we have in place, and that process usually involves competitive bidding, for example. We don't want to give up no-bid contracts, but that's what earmarks by definition typically do. So I don't think that that is proper here, and with that, I would urge an affirmative vote on the amendment. Madam Chairman, I yield back my time.”