Tom Harkin: “Again, Mr. President, if the Senator from Missouri was really serious, I am sure that he could have found out that in…”

“Again, Mr. President, if the Senator from Missouri was really serious, I am sure that he could have found out that in March of this year the National Endowment for the Arts wrote a letter to the director, who put out this book, I guess, under this grant, that it wasn't supported by the NEA. And the Senator from Missouri would not have stood in this Chamber today and said that "Blood of Mugwump" was another example of bad taxpayer spending by the National Endowment for the Arts. I caution my friend from Missouri that he simply check his facts. That is all. And I am certain that if he just wanted to check his facts, if the Senator from Missouri just simply wanted to check whether or not what he was saying was factual, a simple call to the National Endowment for the Arts--they are not hard to get hold of. They are right down here in Washington, DC. Their phone number is 682-5400. I would suggest to my friend from Missouri that he simply pick up the phone and call them, ask them: Is it so that "Blood of Mugwump" was funded by an NEA grant? And he would have been told the facts. So I think we have an obligation when we debate here on the Senate floor to be, at least, somewhat careful.”