Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 13, 1973 (1/2)
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 13, 1973 (1/2)
Senator ERVIN. Now, how often did the budgetary committee meet? Mr. STANS. Beginning Labor Day, it was scheduled to meet every week. Before Labor Day, it, met at somewhat irregular occasions. There were fairly frequent meetings in April and 'May and less frequent meetings, I believe, in June,, July and August. Senator ERVIN---. Well, wasn't it your function among other things, to discuss and debate and reach a conclusion with the other members of the budgetary commission as to what outlays of money should be made? Mr. STANS. Yes, sir, that was the function. But I apparently wasn't eloquent enough. Senator ERVIN. Can you explain to a simple-minded man like me the mental Processes by which you can determine how much money ought to be spent for a particular project unless you know what the project is? Mr. STANS. That exactly is the kind of problem we had. We had minimum specifications. The problem was not determining what the project was in those terms; the problem was: "Do we need to spend $12 million for television and radio advertising and another $4.5 million for direct mail and another $1.9 million for telephone Or isn't there, an overkill and a duplication in doing all of these things." Mr. Chairman, there no yardstick by which you judge the necessities of a political campaign. I was only arguing to keep the expenditures down to the limits that I thought I could raise. [00.08.03]