Congress Quotes - Page 38

• I believe in the absolute separation of church and state and in the strict enforcement of the Constitution that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

  Al Smith

  Believe, Exercise, Law

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• I would love to do an unauthorized biography about Congress. It's like a secret society up there.

  Kitty Kelley

  Secret, Biographies, Secret Society

  "Kelley pulls curtain back on Camelot" by Patrick Gavin, www.politico.com. December 17, 2012.

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• Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and hostile interests; which interests each must maintain, as an agent and advocate, against other agents and advocates; but parliament is a deliberative assembly of one nation, with one interest, that of the whole; where, not local purposes, not local prejudices ought to guide, but the general good, resulting from the general reason of the whole. You choose a member indeed; but when you have chosen him, he is not a member of Bristol, but he is a member of parliament.

  Edmund Burke

  Agents, Ambassadors, Politics

  Edmund Burke (1999). “The Portable Edmund Burke”, p.172, Penguin

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• Congress has funded numerous programs to provide care and compensation to 9/11 victims, spending several billion dollars on extraordinary and unprecedented efforts.

  Michael Enzi

  Effort, Having Fun, Dollars

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• It is provided by the Constitution that the President shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.

  Chester A. Arthur

  Giving, Judging, President

  Chester A. Arthur (2006). “State of the Union Addresses”, p.28, ReadHowYouWant.com

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• Favoritism' is always a factor, and pressure always build for the appointment of friends of influential supporters of the President, or for the nominees of powerful Member of Congress from the incoming President's party.

  Richard V. Allen

  Powerful, Party, President

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• I generally leave the details of fiscal programs to the Administration and Congress. That's really their area of authority and responsibility, and I don't think it's appropriate for me to second guess.

  Ben Bernanke

  Responsibility, Thinking, Details

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• Well, what I tried to do is simply to get out on the land. And when I came to Washington, I think one of the mistakes we made early on was kind of having an ideological dispute up in the Congress.

  Bruce Babbitt

  Mistake, Thinking, Land

  "Exit Interview: Bruce Babbitt". Interview with Gwen Ifill, www.pbs.org. January 5, 2001.

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• If I could create one job in the private sector by helping to grow a business, that would be one more than Congress has created in the last six months.

  Evan Bayh

  Jobs, Would Be, Six Months

  "Bayh: No Chance I'll Switch Parties" by David Morgan, www.cbsnews.com. February 16, 2010.

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• Challenges of historic import threaten America's future. Action on the deficit, economy, energy, health care and much more is imperative, yet our legislative institutions fail to act. Congress must be reformed.

  Evan Bayh

  America, Challenges, Energy

  "Why I'm Leaving the Senate" by Evan Bayh, www.realclearpolitics.com. February 21, 2010.

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• I love working for the people of Indiana. I love helping our citizens make the most of their lives, but I do not love Congress.

  Evan Bayh

  People, Citizens, Indiana

  "Indiana's Bayh To Retire From Senate". Interview with Melissa Block, www.npr.org. February 15, 2010.

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• Of course, the genesis of a good portion of the gridlock in Congress does not reside in Congress itself. Ultimate reform will require each of us, as voters and Americans, to take a long look in the mirror, because in many ways, our representatives in Washington reflect the people who have sent them there.

  Evan Bayh

  Mirrors, Long, People

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• What is required from members of Congress and the public alike is a new spirit of devotion to the national welfare beyond party or self-interest.

  Evan Bayh

  Party, Self, Spirit

  "The sad, hypocritical retirement of Evan Bayh" by Ezra Klein, www.washingtonpost.com. March 15, 2011.

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• While Kuwait is not a democracy, giving only half the population a voice in their government is not a policy this Congress should support and one that I am glad that Kuwait's leaders are changing.

  Ginny Brown-Waite

  Voice, Government, Kuwait

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• I'm a lobbyist and had a career lobbying. The guy who gets elected or the lady who gets elected president of the United States will immediately be lobbying. They would be advocating to the Congress, they'll be lobbying our allies and our adversaries overseas. They'll be asking the business community and labor unions.

  Haley Barbour

  Careers, Community, Guy

  "Rep. Paul Ryan on Deficit Reduction; Gov. Haley Barbour on 2012 Presidential Politics". "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace, www.foxnews.com. February 13, 2011.

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• Most Americans are more concerned about the economy and job creation. And they can't understand why the Obama administration or the Democrat majority in Congress wants to pass a bill like the cap-and-trade tax that will cost us jobs, that will hurt our economy, that will drive up costs for families, as well as for small businesses.

  Haley Barbour

  Hurt, Jobs, Want

  "Barbour Responds to 2012 Chatter". "Hannity" with Sean Hannity, www.foxnews.com. July 8, 2009.

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• The Obama administration and the Democratic Congress have taken the biggest lurch to the left in policy in American history. There've been no - no Congress, no administration that has run this far to the left in such a small period of time. And there is a reaction to that.

  Haley Barbour

  Running, Taken, Administration

  "Miller: Turn Out Feds, Give Alaska Greater Control of Its Resources". www.foxnews.com. August 29, 2010.

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• Listen, we all have to agree that there is too much litigation going on in this world. But every year it seems to multiply tenfold. Why can't we stop it? Well, it's because the lawmakers in Congress and the Senate are almost all lawyers, too!

  James Belushi

  Years, World, Too Much

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• We put together a one-sentence petition asking Congress to censure President Clinton and move on to other pressing issues. We sent it to under 100 friends and family, and within a week we had 100,000 people sign the petition.

  Joan Blades

  Moving, Issues, People

  "MoveOn as an Instrument of the People". Interview with Terrence McNally, www.alternet.org. June 24, 2004.

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• 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

  Responsibility, Past, People

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• The founders were very worried that if parties developed in America, you might have something like the modern Italian system, where you have 20 different parties that divide Congress and the country and can't govern.

  Michael Beschloss

  Country, Party, Italian

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• 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

  Political, Campaigns, Likes

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• I have a reputation for being the hardest working person in Congress.

  Shelley Berkley

  Reputation, Hardest, Persons

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• I come home every weekend and I still can't believe I represent Las Vegas in Congress. It's such a kick.

  Shelley Berkley

  Believe, Home, Weekend

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• So we in Congress have a very clear choice. We can take largely symbolic action and sit back and fiddle while Americans burn more gasoline. Or we can pass concrete, effective legislation that will save consumers money while significantly reducing U.S. oil consumption.

  Sherwood Boehlert

  Oil, Choices, Gasoline

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