Congressional Quotes

#1. My primary motivation for running for the 9th Congressional District is that I strongly believe that one of the hallmarks of the American democracy is a representative form of democracy.

Willie Herenton

#2. I have the authority to address the threat from Isil, but I believe we are strongest as a nation when the president and Congress work together. So I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger.

Barack Obama

#3. It is a Constitution that morphs while you look at it like Plasticman ... That is contrary to our whole tradition, to in God we trust on the coins, to Thanksgiving proclamations, to (Congressional) chaplains, to tax exemption for places of worship, which has always existed in America.

Antonin Scalia

#4. Districts to tilt the playing field in their favor. Their success was unprecedented. In states like Ohio, Michigan and North Carolina, Republicans were able to shape congressional

Anonymous

#5. Your memo is trumping a Congressional statute. You don't have the discretion on whether to follow the law or not.

Trey Gowdy

#6. We've got activists all across the country like the members of the Million Mom March organization, some of their leaders are here tonight. We're phone banking congressional offices and pursuing editorial boards.

Michael D. Barnes

#7. Just mention the idea of warrantless wiretaps and expect to get hit up with a congressional investigation. But give somebody an avatar and a URL, and he can't tweet, post or hyperlink enough personal information about himself to as many people as possible.

John Ridley

#8. Here's an interesting figure: 43 percent of the incoming congressional freshmen are millionaires. The other 57 percent are Democrats.

Jay Leno

#9. It is only the words of the bill that have presidential approval, where that approval is given. It is not to be supposed that in signing a bill the President endorses the whole Congressional Record.

Robert H. Jackson

#10. [Write to your congressional representative against the health care reform proposal or] we will awake to find that we have socialism.

Ronald Reagan

#11. I don't have any rift with President Obama at all. I think that he is operating in an entirely different arena than I'm dealing in. I represent my constituents in the Fourth Congressional District. I'm looking out admittedly for much more narrow interests. I represent the fourth-poorest district.

Gwen Moore

#12. My favorite Congressional incongruity: ... Red State legislators galumphing from meeting to meeting in full pancake makeup. Estee Lauder may well make more money on Capitol Hill than in Beverly Hills.

Frank Bruni

#13. Yesterday I, along with a bipartisan Congressional Delegation of lawmakers, inspected the detention facilities at Guantanamo used to house individuals detained in the War on Terrorism.

Jim Ryun

#14. For the first time in history, Congress has 100 women in it. Congratulations. Welcome to modern times, America. It's great having 100 women in Congress. Unless you're in line for the congressional bathroom.

Craig Ferguson

#15. After two years of hard work and debate, Congress has passed a highway bill that will help fuel our economy by creating roughly 500,000 new jobs, as well as address many critical transportation needs in Ohio and the 18th Congressional District.

Bob Ney

#16. I am committed to working with Speaker Hastert and the other members of the Illinois congressional delegation to do all that I can to ensure that Illinois' funding needs are adequately met.

Bill Lipinski

#17. Congressional Republicans are dismantling the limited environmental protections initiated by Richard Nixon, who would be something of a dangerous radical in today's political scene.

Noam Chomsky

#18. I want to step up our voter-registration activities. Not every branch does it, and not all the time. I want them to go back and get out the vote because I want us to have a big impact on the Congressional elections this year.

Julian Bond

#19. I am a leader in the fight against the national energy tax proposal some Congressional leaders are advocating. I call this bad idea 'cap-and-tax' because of the damage it will do to jobs, manufacturing and our economy.

Jim Sensenbrenner

#20. Within the narrow confines of Permanent Washington - the journalists, lobbyists, and congressional lifers who are the city's avatars of centrism and continuity - Ford is considered the beau ideal of American leadership.

Timothy Noah

#21. Io, this is Admiral Muhan of the Martian Congressional Republic Navy. You fire anything bigger than a bottle rocket and we will glass the whole fucking moon. Do you read me?

James S.A. Corey

#22. If you chose to serve in Congress or on a congressional staff, you should be barred for life from working for any company, organization, or association which lobbies the federal government.

Jack Abramoff

#23. As I have traveled throughout my Congressional district, the one thing I heard loud and clear was simply please stop spending money you do not have, rein in spending, live within a budget.

Tim Scott

#24. White man makes guns? No problem. Black rapper says "gun"? Congressional hearing.

Chris Rock

#25. I filed the ethics complaint against Tom DeLay not because I'm a Democrat and he's a Republican or even because he drew me out of my congressional seat but because he engaged in corruption to further his plans to disenfranchise voters in Texas.

Chris Bell

#26. Some of the school districts in my congressional district are looking at resource officers and how they secure that environment.

Marsha Blackburn

#27. Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.

Sarah Palin

#28. I also believe that if we're serious about change, we need to have a real discussion about public financing for congressional elections.

Barack Obama

#29. Given the difficulty of resisting such temptations over the longer run, a proper concern for the welfare of congressional souls may well be the ultimate argument in favor of term limitations.

James L. Buckley

#30. The Congressional Record will forever show that [Obamacare] was passed in a romper room of overgrown children seemingly barely old enough to keep from peeing on themselves.

Matt Taibbi

#31. There are a lot of anachronisms in Washington, but the need to periodically raise the debt limit by Congressional vote is certainly one of them.

Roger Altman

#32. I'm confident in our resolve to make the decisions necessary to keep our country and our people safe and prosperous and I look forward to representing the citizens of Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District for the next two years.

Jim Gerlach

#33. The term congressional hearing is an oxymoron. No congressional hearing is ever called to gather information. Rather, it is an exercise designed strictly for posturing, by people who have already made up their minds, looking for ammunition to support their positions.

Jack McDevitt

#34. Back in the mid-1980s, congressional hearings were held after we brought this litigation, and held up the first experiment. At that time, I went in front of Congress, along with the major agencies involved with this.

Jeremy Rifkin

#35. Under the circumstances, may I suggest another means of encouraging probity in elective office. I refer to term limitations, which can serve ends beyond that of saving congressional souls.

James L. Buckley

#36. I had to wonder why these people weren't protesting at their congressional offices or in Washington. Protesting the people who were ordered to protect them - let's just say it put a bad taste in my mouth.

Chris Kyle

#37. As founder and co-chair of the upper Mississippi River Congressional task force, I have long sought to preserve the river's health and historical multiple uses, including as a natural waterway and a home to wildlife, for the benefit of future generations of Americans.

Ron Kind

#38. My position is to listen to my constituents, learn from the best information available and ultimately make sound, rational decisions that are going to be beneficial to the people of the 8th Congressional District.

Gabrielle Giffords

#39. When you work in the White House you talk to the White House staff all day, so you're talking to the guy who handles the congressional liaison and the guy who's handling domestic politics and the guy who's handling the American economy and so forth.

Elliott Abrams

#40. A Congressional Budget Office report released as recent as June 2004 says the system will be able to pay full benefits until 2052, and 80 percent after that.

Grace Napolitano

#41. It is high time for some congressional oversight backbone.

Bob Barr

#42. First of all, let it be remembered that I speak as an ex-Communist and one who has not testified before Congressional Committees, nor written works on the Communist conspiracy.

Dorothy Day

#43. If we do not get No Child Left Behind right for Limited English Proficient students, the law will be a failure for most schools in the 15th Congressional District, and for many across the nation.

Ruben Hinojosa

#44. In the final analysis this congressional race is always going to be a close race, whether there's a presidential race or governor's race or not. But is this a better year? Yes, this would probably be a better year.

Baron Hill

#45. Washington state's 2nd Congressional District is a major producer of small fruit crops such as raspberries and strawberries. This research center is doing important work to help farmers enhance the quality, yield and marketability of their small fruit crops.

Rick Larsen

#46. Brought before HCUA, Miller was chastised for the suggestion that Congressional investigations might have something in common with witch trials; he replied, "The comparison is inevitable, sir." Thomas was shortly afterwards thrown in jail for fraud.

Carl Sagan

#47. When the president acts in absence of a congressional grant of authority, he can rely only upon his own independent powers. When the president takes measures incompatible with the express or implied will of Congress, his power is at its lowest ebb.

Arlen Specter

#48. Despite constant vilifying by the media and congressional threats to take away the tools needed to uncover plots, FBI agents and CIA officers work silently around the clock and risk their own lives to keep us safe.

Ronald Kessler

#49. Of all the charges made against the Communists these days of congressional investigations, the charge of loose morals is seldom heard, so very loose have become those of "Christian" people.

Dorothy Day

#50. I intend to do what I can, working with my congressional colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, to help bring about the changes to the practices and institutions of our democracy that they want and deserve.

John McCain

#51. The Constitution's pretty clear. The Federalist papers are pretty clear ... They very specifically delegated the power to declare war to Congress. They wanted this to be a congressional decision; they did not want war to be engaged in by the executive without approval of Congress.

Rand Paul

#52. When I came back to Washington to be The Times' chief congressional correspondent in 1991, I was looking for a book subject, and Ted Kennedy stood out for two reasons.

Adam Clymer

#53. However, FDA attempted to reverse this clear congressional intent in March, 1979, by proposing to regulate vitamins and minerals as 'Over-The-Counter' drugs..

Orrin Hatch

#54. Republican and Democrat are simply two different factions of the same ruling party, and their congressional battles are primarily over political spoils, not political ideology

Vox Day

#55. Our firm view is that the president has no legal authority, none whatsoever, to commit American troops to war in the Persian Gulf or anywhere else without congressional authorization.

George J. Mitchell

#56. I don't believe it mattered to Timothy McVeigh who was president or who his congressional representative was when he blew up the Murrah Building in 1995.

Henry Rollins

#57. The 1st Congressional District contains almost half of the biotech and biomedical companies in Washington, and my job often allows me to meet the people responsible for this exciting research.

Jay Inslee

#58. In 2010 and 2012, I won the Democratic nomination in the 22nd Congressional District on the program 'Save NASA Impeach Obama,' without any organizational or financial backing from the party.

Kesha Rogers

#59. We must use all the tools of American power in resolving disputes, including diplomacy. And we must have sufficient congressional debate and oversight before ever putting another U.S. solider in harm's way.

Barbara Lee

#60. I didn't just want to be a poster boy and sign on to publicize somebody else's method of operations. If I was going to put myself out there, I wanted to make sure that it was to an end. So I got involved with this congressional hearing about Parkinson's being underfunded.

Michael J. Fox

#61. Gary Condit is on the Congressional committee for Homeland Security. They make the guy responsible for Homeland Security who is the guy no one would feel secure going home with.

Jay Leno

#62. As budget cuts cripple civilian agencies and programs, they lose their ability to perform ad they once did, so we look to the military to pick up the slack. . . . This requires still higher military budgets, which continues the devastating cycle.

Rosa Brooks

#63. On one side you have book burners, Congressional wives and Pat Robertson. On the other side, you have vulgar comedians, foul-mouthed rap groups and Dennis Hopper - all your choices should be so easy.

Sandra Bernhard

#64. White criminals commit the biggest crimes.a brother might rob a bank. a white man will rob a pension fund. the brother is going to get ten to fifteen years because he had a gun. the white guy is going to get a congressional hearing because he had a job and a nice suit.

Wanda Sykes

#65. Some issues lend themselves to grassroots campaigns - homeschooling works well - but others require contrivance and connivance to whip up support. Often, lobbyists will hire vendors to dispatch blast emails and robocalls in the hopes of bombarding Congressional offices with citizen fury.

Jack Abramoff

#66. So we still need a permanent fix. The president would sign the Dream Act tomorrow, the next day, the day after that. That's ultimately the only way to fix this, is for congressional action.

David Plouffe

#67. Politicians like to confuse congressional spending with earmarks. There is a difference.

Marsha Blackburn

#68. The Congressional leaders set the agenda for journalism; it's not the other way around.

Michael Pollan

#69. Even the Congressional Budget Office and the Social Security trustees appointed by the president say that Social Security is financially sound, without any changes for the next 40 to 50 years.

James Roosevelt

#70. The reforms proposed by the Patent Reform Act of 2007 are precisely the type of congressional action needed. The Act will remove obstacles to growth and restore balance to the patent system.

Viet D. Dinh

#71. Giving jazz the Congressional seal of approval is a little like making Huck Finn an honorary Boy Scout.

Melvin Maddocks

#72. But in this Congress, accountability is just a catch phrase, usually directed elsewhere. Demands to personal responsibility or corporate accountability abound, but rarely congressional accountability or fiscal responsibility.

Melissa Bean

#73. He cannot speak clearly if his words must be strained through a Congressional gag.

Doris Kearns Goodwin

#74. I follow the teachings of Major General Smedley Darlington Butler, United States Marine Corps. He won two Congressional Medals of Honor, and he wrote the highly controversial antiwar book 'War is a Racket.'

Jesse Ventura

#75. There was no Congressional Club for my first campaign. There was no organized state group of Young Republicans, but there was a dedicated core of young people who volunteered to do anything my campaign needed.

Jesse Helms

#76. Sloths move at the speed of congressional debate but with greater deliberation and less noise.

P. J. O'Rourke

#77. How sad is it that this tiff sort of cheers me up? If two of the most distinguished, dedicated, and thoughtful public servants in the history of this republic could not find a way to agree to disagree, how can we expect the current crop of congressional blockheads to get along? While

Sarah Vowell

#78. An enormous problem with paid media, especially at the congressional level, is it all starts to look alike.

Roger Ailes

#79. Let's not overlook, though, what we do know about the campaign finance scandal, and the fact the Chinese were involved in our presidential campaign and our congressional campaigns.

Fred Thompson

#80. Hurray! Congress is to adjourn! Only four more days of Congressional burglary on the Treasury!

Will Rogers

#81. Top IRS officials specifically targeted tea party groups and misled the public about its secret political targeting program led by ex-official Lois Lerner, according to a bombshell new congressional report.

Patrick Howley

#82. [M]embers of the media-monetary-military-congressional complex are immoral and have an allergy to the truth.

Ilana Mercer

#83. The Senate cannot confirm an individual ... who would support a scheme that violates our Constitution, eviscerates congressional authority.

Jeff Sessions

#84. All alone in a committee room of the Senate Office Building in Washington, I was reading the dry typewritten pages in an unpublished report of an almost forgotten congressional committee hearing.

Robert W. Welch Jr.

#85. All I know is just what I read in the Congressional Record. They have had some awful funny articles in there lately. As our government deteriorates, our humor increases.

Will Rogers

#86. It now becomes clear why the Bush Administration has been vigorously opposing congressional hearings. The Bush Administration has been engaged in a conspiracy of silence.

Cynthia McKinney

#87. Anything my staff does in my office is pursuant to congressional rules.

Sheila Jackson Lee

#88. In May 2007, congressional Democrats and the Bush administration agreed to a plan to include environmental and international labor standards in upcoming trade agreements.

Nina Easton

#89. We all live in the moment, and we often mistakenly believe that what is true today was true always. Not so in politics, and especially in Congressional elections.

Larry J. Sabato

#90. Martian Congressional Republic Navy.

James S.A. Corey

#91. Since 1980, we've used reconciliation 22 times, and out of those times, Republicans used it 16 times. So, earth to my Republican friends, you can have your option but you cannot change these facts. They're in the Congressional Record.

Barbara Boxer

#92. When the shadow of the Presidential and Congressional election is lifted we shall, I hope to be in a better temper to legislate.

James A. Garfield

#93. Under President Barack Obama, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has been invited into the White House and given a seat at the table. Hispanics are serving in unprecedented numbers at the highest levels of this administration, including in the Cabinet.

Charlie Gonzalez

#94. In my years of public service at both the federal and state levels, I have had the privilege of representing most of the communities that make up Congressional District 21, including Hialeah, Westchester, Doral, Kendall, Miami Lakes, Hialeah Gardens, Medley and Palmetto Bay.

Mario Diaz-Balart

#95. The increase in straight-ticket party voting in recent years means that competitive congressional races can tip one way or the other depending on the showing of the candidates at the top of the ticket.

Thomas E. Mann

#96. I have been privileged to have the opportunity to work with many of African American fraternal and social organizations that are active in my congressional district. They all do important work that makes a tangible difference to the quality of life in our community.

Chris Van Hollen

#97. I was with - he wasn't the president then, but - Barack Obama, when he was running, in Washington, during Black Congressional Caucus Weekend, and did a panel about global warming with him. It was almost as if I switched careers for a while, and became a political activist.

Lawrence Bender

#98. Think of what would happen to us ... if there were no humorists; life would be one long Congressional Record.

Thomas Lansing Masson

#99. I want to emphasis again, Governor (Thomas) Kean and Congressman (Lee) Hamilton pointed out that congressional oversight also was a major contributor to our failures prior to 9/11 and that has to be fixed as well.

John McCain

#100. The Bush administration and Congressional Republicans have failed to bring up comprehensive energy reform or any piece of legislation for that matter that would lower gas prices, opting instead to give massive subsidies to the oil and gas industry.

Rosa DeLauro