Dick Durbin Quotes (89 Quotes)

When will this bridge be completed ... we don't know, ... But we have to take this step to make sure we are moving in that direction quickly.

It is an element of fairness, an element of opportunity. It basically says in America, we won't let you buy an election. If you're going to come in and try to do that, then you're at least going to give the other candidate a chance to compete.

We need to know as much as we can and as much as he will tell us about his values and beliefs,

a conservative with an agenda or a conservative who will be open-minded.

There was a one-third increase in federal funds over the next five years coming back to Illinois, ... That doesn't happen very often.

Where eight years ago the want ads were empty and the welfare lines were long, we now have 22 million new jobs in our nation, ... Where eight years ago stagnation was crippling our economy, we now stand strong.

If he issues rulings as Sandra Day O'Connor did, it will be no issue at all. But if he goes to the court and comes forward with rulings such as we've seen from Justices Scalia and Thomas time and again, it will be an issue.

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case.

I think what all of us are trying to get to is just what's in his heart and what he believes and what kind of conservative he is. If he's a Sandra Day O'Connor conservative, he's going to be accepted by this committee by a strong vote. But if he's got a strong political and ideological agenda, I think he's in for a rough ride.

I don't think we should assume that's going to happen at all.

One week after the comments were made Durbin returned to the Senate floor and apologized, saying In the end, I don't want anything in my public career to detract from my love for this country, my respect for those who serve it, and this great Senate, ... I offer my apologies to those that were offended by my words. More than most people, a senator lives by his words ... occasionally words fail us, occasionally we will fail words.

It appears that Illinois farmers pay a heavy price in the president's budget this year. His proposed budget cuts to price support programs will cost Illinois farmers about 65 million.

We are about to enter the Roberts era on the Supreme Court,

Sen. John Kerry , D-Mass., said Bush continues to invent a false link between the war in Iraq and the tragedy of Sept. 11. ... has offered America a false choice, between resolve and retreat.

Why is it we're transferring all this family and business income to businesses making record profits ... I think frankly this is unfair to families and businesses. This money needs to come back to families and the consumer.

Whether we're talking about Red Cross, or Second Harvest, Salvation Army or other groups, this is direct assistance right to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We need to do our part at the government level, but this dramatic outpouring of support across the country to the Red Cross and other agencies, is money well spent. It's money that really is effectively cutting across a lot of red tape and helping people,

It simply isn't fair for senators to cut to the front of the line when seniors around the country have been forced to wait for hours to get a flu shot.

Some of the opinions that he's handed down are controversial decisions deciding that the Family and Medical Leave Act did not apply to state employees authorizing a strip search in a situation involving a mother and her 10-year-old daughter questions involving the rights of privacy,

We have lost over 2,000 of our best and bravest. Over 15,000 have been seriously wounded, ... We are spending more than 6 billion a month, with no end in sight. And this Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee refuses to even ask the hard questions about the misinformation and disinformation given to the American people, and the efforts made by the members of this administration to cover it up.

Changing Speeds While most Americans savor their last days of summer, Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats are gearing up to ask John Roberts tough questions about his judicial philosophy at his confirmation hearing next week. We need to be sure this institution is in the mainstream of American thinking, ... What we need to do is ask the obvious questions.

Our party is a diverse one, as is my home state of Illinois.

I don't know a single Democrat who is saying that it's time for a filibuster, that we should really consider it. It's way too early.

If you've made one point many times over during the course of the last three days, it is that as a judge you will be loyal and faithful to the process of law, to the rule of law. But, beyond loyalty to the process of law how do you view the law when it comes to expanding our personal freedoms

I hope and I pray that nothing happens in this country between now and the time we take these bills up.

It's not a federal mandate, ... It's an opportunity for your community, on a grass roots basis, to come together and decide how you can tell the story of Lincoln.

I'm sorry that this wasn't done years and years ago,

Unfortunately the Republican tax cut will deny important revenues to many states facing their own deficits. This will create greater pressure for higher state and local taxes.

Beyond loyalty to the process of law, how do you view this law when it comes to expanding our personal freedom Is it important enough for you to say in some instances, I will not use my skills as a lawyer because I don't believe that that is a cause that is consistent with my values and belief

it would have put millions of American consumers and families at risk of losing coverage for necessary health care.

I wanted to make certain that no conflicts of interest would have prevented Mr. Flanigan from performing his duties,

We can't do much about ensuring that the homeland is safe if our local police and sheriffs' departments don't have the personnel they need to keep our streets and neighborhoods secure.

If he picks a candidate who clearly satisfies the most extreme, radical element of the Republican Party, that candidate is not going to reflect the values of America and there will be a real fight in the committee and on the floor of the Senate,

Millions of Americans take vitamins safely every day, including me. Vitamins and mineral supplements taken in recommended doses are safe. It's the designer supplements that are worrisome.

The American people have a right to know whether any elected official misused intelligence to mislead our nation into war.

Americans are struggling to pay home heating costs, yet the president's budget cuts funding to help the most vulnerable in our nation pay their bills.

There's more candor this time around, which helps, but I'm still looking at some of the basic questions,

This is the height of fiscal irresponsibility, ... I can just see these poor, homeless people sitting in the Houston Astrodome saying, 'Thank God, I don't have to pay some death tax.'

I'm hoping that (the president and Congress are) sensitive to what consumers are needing,

He said he spent more time worrying over and working on that decision,

the president's call for blind loyalty to his policies in Iraq.

It is unacceptable that disabled veterans in Illinois rank at the bottom of the list when it comes to disability pay. We owe our disabled veterans more than speeches, parades and monuments.

This is the type of thing you would expect from a repressive regime, ... This is not the type of thing you would expect from the United States. If I read this to you and did not tell you that is was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that have no concern for human beings.

You know, the purpose of reconciliation is to avoid the filibuster. The filibuster is an effort to talk something to death.

Putting Karl Rove in charge makes no sense whatsoever, ... He has no resume and no skills other than running political campaigns -- and if he is being put in place to protect the president politically, that decision does not serve the best interests of the American people, nor of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

I believe that there are good, honest members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. Its time for them to make a clear break with Mr. DeLays style and tactics.

I hope it does bring the Senate together, ... before a second was recognized and to go into a quorum call that could have lasted 'til Thursday.

I wonder, where are you ... All of us are trying to get down to, what are your core values

America will be there. I'm not sure in what capacity or to what extent, but we will be there, ... Late Edition.

These are men and women who are willing to risk their lives in defense of their country. And the fact that their orientation - sexual orientation's been held against them is a blot on our nation's reputation.

Nothing should ever be said to demean or diminish that moral tragedy, ... I'm also sorry if anything I said, in any way, cast a negative light on our fine men and women in the military.