Congress Quotes

"It's an embarrassment that we don't have a broad enough consensus among political leaders that true reform should take place. I could count the members of Congress on one hand that took these issues seriously"

DeForest Soaries, Politician

"If George W. Bush is given a second term, and retains a Republican Congress and a compliant federal judiciary, he and his allies are likely to embark on a campaign of political retribution the likes of which we haven't seen since Richard Nixon"

Paul Begala, Journalist

"You bet every member of Congress who votes for this bill ought to read it, read it thoroughly, and understand that what we're looking at here amounts to nothing more than a government takeover of our health care economy, paid for with nearly a trillion dollars in new taxes on individuals and small businesses. And it must be opposed"

Mike Pence, Politician

"It is time to end the discrimination against people who need treatment for chemical addiction. It is time for Congress to deal with our Nation's number one public health problem"

Jim Ramstad, Politician

"I believe Watergate shows that the system did work. Particularly the Judiciary and the Congress, and ultimately an independent prosecutor working in the Executive Branch"

Bob Woodward, Journalist

"It's not written in the Constitution or anything else.... Congress, just out of the clear blue sky, said the airwaves belong to the people, which means, in essence, that it belongs to Congress"

Adrian Cronauer, Entertainer

"The difference between the more traditional sports clubs and Congress is that Congress doesn't really compete against another team"

Cal Thomas, Journalist

"We in Congress need to support the American forces in every conceivable way, giving them the tools to continue to convert, capture or kill terrorists and the time to equip the Iraqi security forces"

Bob Inglis, Politician

"We're sad about some of the losses of members of great seniority and distinction in the Congress, and some very new members, who will no longer be serving with us"

Nancy Pelosi, Politician

"We in Congress stand by Israel. In Congress, we speak with one voice on the subject of Israel"

Nancy Pelosi, Politician

"The Chinese leadership hoped that the world would soon forget the Tiananmen Square massacre. Our job in Congress is to ensure that we never forget those who lost their lives in Tiananmen Square that day or the pro-democracy cause for which they fought"

Tom Lantos, Diplomat

"I mean to say that Congress can hereafter decide whether any states, slave or free, can be framed out of Texas. If they should never be framed out of Texas, they never could be admitted"

William H. Seward, Politician

"I have the Pleasure to assure you Congress pay particular Attention to the Defence of New Jersey, and hitherto have denied us nothing which we have Asked for that Purpose"

Abraham Clark, Politician

"Copyrights have not expired, and will not expire, so long as Congress is free to be bought to extend them again"

Lawrence Lessig, Educator

"We know well enough that if we repeal this law and give nothing for it, the people of this country will regard it as a total demonetization of silver, which it will be, so far as this Congress is concerned, without any question"

Richard Parks Bland, Politician

"That's what mayors do. They lobby Congress to provide resources for their city"

Maxine Waters, Politician

"No Congress ever has seen fit to amend the Constitution to address any issue related to marriage. No Constitutional Amendment was needed to ban polygamy or bigamy, nor was a Constitutional Amendment needed to set a uniform age of majority to ban child marriages"

Judy Biggert, Politician

"You know, this is - one can imagine how life would be different if one body of Congress was controlled by the other party, there would be subpoena power and there would be all - mechanisms to get to the bottom of all sorts of issues of controversy"

Michael Isikoff, Journalist

"As to my Title, I know not yet whether it will be honourable or dishonourable, the issue of the War must Settle it. Perhaps our Congress will be Exalted on a high Gallows"

Abraham Clark, Politician

"If a trip is worth taking, members of Congress should be prepared to justify paying for it out of their office accounts"

Russ Feingold, Politician

"Again, in Wag the Dog, war has to be declared by an act of congress. But if you go to war, you don't have to declare war. You're just at war and we did that, which is not legal"

Val Kilmer, Actor

"The pro-growth policies of Congress have helped created new jobs in the region and across the country"

Tim Murphy, Politician

"I supported Bob Schaffer's three races for Congress. But we all had concerns about whether he could win statewide. Then my wife suggested that I get it"

Pete Coors, Businessman

"The American people expect more from Congress. They expect fiscal responsibility and common sense. They expect us to return to the pay-as-you-go budget rules that we had enacted in the past that helped us establish a surplus, however briefly"

Melissa Bean, Politician

"As we enter into the 110th Congress, it is imperative that we address ethics reforms needed to make this institution run correctly"

Jo Ann Davis, Politician

"The argument has been made in Congress that it is slippery slope if you allow therapeutic, what people people are calling therapeutic cloning, then you will get reproductive cloning"

David Baltimore, Scientist

"The Republican Party is in charge. They've been charge of the Congress and spending for 10 years"

Chaka Fattah, Politician

"Ever since I came to Congress in 1992, there are those who have been trying to silence my voice. I've been told to "sit down and shut up" over and over again. Well, I won't sit down and I won't shut up until the full and unvarnished truth is placed before the American people"

Cynthia McKinney, Politician

"Congress must make it clear that common animal waste will not expose farmers to liability under Superfund, while ensuring continued action to clean up legitimate hazardous waste sites around the nation"

Ike Skelton, Politician

"There has been a growing consensus across the country - from statehouses to the White House and the halls of Congress - that we need to take dramatic steps to improve our secondary schools"

Ruben Hinojosa, Politician

"For Members of Congress, we are saying here on the Democratic side of the aisle we are not going to vote for another pay increase for Members of Congress until the American people get an increase"

Kendrick Meek, Politician

"And I am saying, how about the other two branches? And putting the pressure on our representatives in the Senate and the Congress, and the court system. They should be counter-acting this corruption, but they are sitting there silent"

Sibel Edmonds, Public Servant

"I feel kind of like the black sheep in Congress, but here I am"

Sonny Bono, Musician

"Congress must also enact pro-growth policies that encourage the economy to expand: like making tax relief permanent and repealing the death tax"

Michael Steele, Politician

"My last comment was, though, that Congress has cooked the books"

Don Nickles, Politician

"In addition to demanding answers and accountability from the Veterans Administration, Congress had to act to ensure veterans do not suffer because of the actions of a federal agency"

Doc Hastings, Politician

"As Bob Dole found out, you can't keep a positive image while being your party's mouthpiece in Congress. That's why no legislative leader since James Madison has ever been elected president"

Dick Morris, Author

"Promoting job creation and economic growth in the Hudson Valley is one of my top priorities in Congress"

Sue Kelly, Politician

"My efforts in Congress are guided by the belief that environmental preservation and restoration are a critical part of the legacy we leave to future generations"

Sue Kelly, Politician

"You know they say the most dangerous person of the world is a member of the United States Congress just home from a three-day fact-finding trip"

Johnny Isakson, Politician

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