Congress Quotes

• 

  We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.

  Abraham Lincoln

  Freedom, Men, Democracies Have

  1053 Copy quote

• The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.

  Alexis de Tocqueville

  Government, Discovery, America

  214 Copy quote

• If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?

  Thomas Jefferson

  Yield, Talking, People

  Autobiography (1821)

  19 Copy quote

  Show source

• The atmosphere is different in Congress after September 11. Terrorism is no longer an abstract issue, but a real, tangible threat.

  Howard Berman

  Real, Issues, Atmosphere

  7 Copy quote

• 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

  Running, Reform, Addresses

  7 Copy quote

• I am at liberty to vote as my conscience and judgment dictates to be right, without the yoke of any party on me... Look at my arms, you will find no party hand-cuff on them.

  Davy Crockett

  Party, Hands, Liberty

  Davy Crockett, Richard Penn Smith (1923). “The autobiography of David Crockett”

  28 Copy quote

  Show source

• We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex - but Congress can.

  Cullen Hightower

  Life, Imagination, Political

  19 Copy quote

• The airheads of Congress will keep their own plush healthcare plan - it's the rest of us guinea pigs who will be thrown to the wolves.

  Camille Paglia

  Pigs, Healthcare, Guinea

  27 Copy quote

• I am a very lucky guy. I can testify before Congress. I can raise funds. I can raise awareness.

  Christopher Reeve

  Guy, Lucky, Awareness

  7 Copy quote

• Politics is the entertainment branch of industry.

  Frank Zappa

  Branches, Politics, Entertainment

  Frank Zappa, Peter Occhiogrosso (1990). “Real Frank Zappa Book”, p.322, Simon and Schuster

  71 Copy quote

  Show source

• Congress consists of one-third, more or less, scoundrels; two-thirds, more or less, idiots; and three-thirds, more or less, poltroons.

  H. L. Mencken

  Two, Three, Idiot

  H.L. Mencken (2012). “Mencken Chrestomathy”, p.622, Vintage

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• I am sorry to say that sometimes matters of very small importance waste a good deal of precious time, by the long and repeated speeches and chicanery of gentlemen who will not wholly throw off the lawyer even in Congress.

  William Whipple

  Sorry, Apology, Long

  7 Copy quote

• The government is unresponsive to the needs of the little man. Under 5' 7", it is impossible to get your congressman on the phone.

  Woody Allen

  Funny, Humor, Men

  20 Copy quote

• I don't know what's wrong with my television set. I was getting C-Span and the Home Shopping Network on the same station. I actually bought a congressman.

  Bruce Baum

  Funny, Home, Shopping

  12 Copy quote

• I'm more concerned about members of Congress being drug-free than I am about members of the Yankees or Giants

  Pat Sajak

  Yankees, Drug, Being Free

  17 Copy quote

• I support efforts to limit the terms of members of Congress, especially members of the House and members of the Senate.

  Dan Quayle

  House, Support, Effort

  7 Copy quote

• Of course, the truth is that the congresspersons are too busy raising campaign money to read the laws they pass. The laws are written by staff tax nerds who can put pretty much any wording they want in there. I bet that if you actually read the entire vastness of the US tax code, you'd find at least one sex scene. ("Yes, yes, YES!" moaned Vanessa as Lance, his taut body moist with moisture, again and again depreciated her adjusted gross rate of annualized fiscal debenture...)

  Dave Barry

  Sex, Law, Nerd

  8 Copy quote

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

  Maxine Waters

  Cities, Resources, Mayors

  "Los Angeles Times Interview : Maxine Waters : Veteran Legislator Makes People Angry-but She's Never Ignored". Interview with Robert Scheer, articles.latimes.com. May 16, 1993.

  13 Copy quote

  Show source

• After 20 years in Congress, I still believe that smaller government and lower taxes are the most effective economic policies.

  Howard Coble

  Believe, Government, Years

  7 Copy quote

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

  Russ Feingold

  Office, Should, Members

  7 Copy quote

• Since coming to Congress, I have been advocating for increased resources for research in the physical sciences and for the Department of Energy Office of Science in particular.

  Judy Biggert

  Office, Energy, Research

  7 Copy quote

• There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest is how I want to promote poetry

  Rita Dove

  Reading, Aggravation, Library

  7 Copy quote

• The Middle East is literally going up in flames, as is California, and Katrina's problems haven't been solved, and Congress' response is to criticize Federal judges.

  Alcee Hastings

  Flames, California, Judging

  8 Copy quote

• I came to Congress to help reduce spending.

  Dave Reichert

  Helping, Spending

  7 Copy quote

• Saddam Hussein has invited members from the U.S. Congress to visit Iraq. Man how stupid is Hussein? If you think Bush had incentive to bomb Iraq before, imagine if Congress was over there.

  Jay Leno

  Stupid, Men, Thinking

  7 Copy quote