Kent Conrad: “I must say I was very troubled when I saw this notion of what the Federal-State relationship is supposed to be. I was…”

“I must say I was very troubled when I saw this notion of what the Federal-State relationship is supposed to be. I was very troubled by the Governor of Michigan, who was on the committee determining the welfare reform policy for the party on the other side of the aisle, suggesting that the role ought to be that the Federal Government levies the taxes, raises the money, and has nothing to say about how the money is spent. Now, if that is not a perverse notion of Federal-State relations, I do not know what is. I told my staff this morning, ``in his dreams,'' as far as this Senator is concerned. My own notion is that there should never be a separation between the responsibility for raising the money and the responsibility for spending the money. That ought to be a fundamental principle that we adhere to in this Chamber.”