"Students of American history will recall that the important place where work gets done in the legislative body, almost without exception, is in the committees, more so than on the floor, although sometimes more attention is paid to the floor"
About this Quote
The subtext is a defense of deliberation and expertise at a moment when both were being hollowed out. Sarbanes served through eras when committee chairs mattered, when seniority and specialization shaped legislation, and when reforms and polarization gradually shifted power toward leadership, messaging, and partisan branding. His phrase “almost without exception” is a pointed rebuke to the modern habit of treating the floor as the main arena; it’s also a reminder that “attention” is a political resource that can be misallocated. Media incentives, fundraising, and primary politics reward performance, not process, so lawmakers increasingly optimize for the floor even if policy is built elsewhere.
There’s also a subtle institutional warning: when committees weaken, Congress doesn’t become more democratic; it becomes more performative and more centralized. Sarbanes isn’t nostalgic for smoke-filled rooms so much as he’s pleading for a legislature that still knows how to legislate.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Sarbanes, Paul. (2026, February 16). Students of American history will recall that the important place where work gets done in the legislative body, almost without exception, is in the committees, more so than on the floor, although sometimes more attention is paid to the floor. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/students-of-american-history-will-recall-that-the-105298/
Chicago Style
Sarbanes, Paul. "Students of American history will recall that the important place where work gets done in the legislative body, almost without exception, is in the committees, more so than on the floor, although sometimes more attention is paid to the floor." FixQuotes. February 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/students-of-american-history-will-recall-that-the-105298/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Students of American history will recall that the important place where work gets done in the legislative body, almost without exception, is in the committees, more so than on the floor, although sometimes more attention is paid to the floor." FixQuotes, 16 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/students-of-american-history-will-recall-that-the-105298/. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
