Barack Obama Quotes on Government (8 Quotes)

I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying.

None of us wants to see any fraud or waste in government spending, ... But nowhere should we be more willing to give people the benefit of the doubt than with the brave men and women who served our country.

When the federal government would actually save millions of dollars by forgoing the status quo and actually sending evacuees on a luxurious six-month cruise it is time to rethink how we are conducting oversight. A short-term temporary solution has turned into a long-term, grossly overpriced sweetheart deal for a cruise line.

Since I'm the president and Democrats have controlled the House and the Senate, it's understandable that people are saying, you know, 'What have you done?'

What I worry about would be that you essentially have two chambers, the House and the Senate, but you have simply, majoritarian, absolute power on either side. And that's just not what the founders intended.

This is not one of those situations where I think you can just jawbone industry into making the investment, ... This is not something that the markets alone will correct. We will have to use the government as a market-maker.

When students participate in debate, they learn to study issues in depth and from perspectives, a skill I use everyday in the Senate.

These funding cuts will be particularly devastating to communities in Southern Illinois where Byrne grants pay for a large percentage of crucial staff and infrastructure, ... I hope that today the Senate will do the right thing and make sure our law enforcement officials have the resources that they need to keep us safe.