CONGRESS QUOTES IV

quotations about the U.S. Congress

Congress has always had a soft spot for “experts” who tell members what they want to hear, whether it’s supply-side economists declaring that tax cuts increase revenue or climate-change skeptics insisting that global warming is a myth.

PAUL KRUGMAN

"Fuels on the Hill,", New York Times, Jun. 27, 2008


Researchers found a frog in new guinea that is so tiny, they believe it's the smallest vertebrate on the planet. It has the tiniest backbone of any living creature, except members of Congress.

JAY LENO

The Tonight Show, Jan. 12, 2012


No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.

GIDEON J. TUCKER

Final Accounting in the Estate of A. B.


Congress, after years of stalling, finally got around to clearing the way for informal discussions that might lead to possible formal talks that could potentially produce some kind of tenative agreements ...

DAVE BARRY

attributed, Great Funny Quotes


Investigation is the requirement of Congress. It's about checks and balances.

NANCY PELOSI

Meet the Press, May 7, 2006


Although the president is the chief foreign policy maker, Congress has a responsibility to be both an informed critic and constructive partner of the president. The ideal established by the founders is neither for one branch to dominate nor for there to be an identity of views between them. Rather, the founders wisely sought to encourage a creative tension between the president and Congress that would produce policies that advance national interests and reflect the views of the American people.

LEE H. HAMILTON

A Creative Tension


He still had a fragment of his boyhood belief that congressmen were persons of intelligence and importance.

SINCLAIR LEWIS

Arrowsmith


After a man has been in Congress, he rarely goes back to real work.

ED HOWE, The Independent, March 18, 1922


Too often critics seem more intent on seeking new ways to alter Congress than to truly learn how it functions. They might well profit from the advice of Thomas Huxley, who said a century ago: "Sit down before facts as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion -- or you shall learn nothing."

GERALD FORD

Address at the University of Florida, Gainesville, November 3, 1966