Max Baucus: “I felt that it was very important that counties have flexibility, not only in how their funding is determined but also…”

“I felt that it was very important that counties have flexibility, not only in how their funding is determined but also in how it is spent. This is why I proposed title III of this bill, and I am very pleased that the sponsors of the bill have accepted it. As explained by my colleague Senator Wyden, under this bill, each year, counties may spend 15-20 percent of their funding either on title II projects or on title III projects. There has been some debate about whether counties should be able to ``mix'' funds in a given year between title II and title III. Regardless of whether it would be a better policy to allow such mixing to occur or to maintain the current separation between titles II and III, it is clear that, as drafted, S. 1608 will not allow such mixing to occur. And while this may not be a perfect solution, rarely is any legislation passed by Congress that could be characterized as ``perfect.''”