John McCain Quotes on Government (37 Quotes)

I have known Trent Lott for 20 years, ... I don't believe he's racist. But he must proactively send a message to his colleagues in the Senate and the American people that he is absolutely opposed to any segregation in any form and racism in any form and discrimination in any form.

I think it's going to be one of the biggest food fights on the floor of the Senate you've ever seen, unless we can come to some agreement ahead of time, because everybody's got their program,

Some of us in Congress are so distrustful of the president that we feel obliged to damage the office in order to restrain the current occupant,

In the Washington soft money game, big business and big labor are accomplices working together to protect the mushy middle of big government, with plenty of special interest plums Big unions get big spending and big business gets corporate welfare and special tax breaks -- all at the expense of average Americans,

Thank God for our form of government. The media won't let there be any cover-up.

I think that it's very appropriate for the Congress to have hearings on the whole issue. Fine, let's have hearings. It's appropriate after every conflict to have hearings. I'm satisfied that Saddam Hussein not only had weapons of mass destruction, but if we had not overthrown him, he would have went back to pursuing the development of weapons of mass destruction.

I would never want to see myself viewed as beating the drums of war, ... but I would rather live with that image than look into the mirror and see a member of Congress who failed to do his duty.

I hope the Congress of the United States would pass a law and I would sign it permanently banning taxation on the Internet,

Congress, no less than the administration, must show the resolve and confidence of a superpower who's cause is just and imperative.

This bill is a shameful example of why the American public has become cynical and skeptical of government. We seem to have forgotten that all these programs, whether meritorious or not, must be paid for,

While I support a more comprehensive bill and hope a more extensive package will eventually past the Senate, I also am a realist and know that we must not let the perfect bill be the enemy of real reform.

What are we doing on the floor of the Senate We're attacking the president's credentials because of his service that ended ... more than 30 years ago,

And despite a short and crowded legislative calendar, and the fact that this is an election year, I believe we must take legislative action and action within the Congress to reorganize our oversight responsibilities,

I believe the Congress of the United States will move forward on this issue. And I believe the American people expect us to, ... Face The Nation.

My colleagues are getting nervous. We talk a lot about the president's unfavorable ratings. Have you noticed the ratings of Congress lately

There are so many allegations swirling around this situation that we must have a public hearing with the secretary of defense testifying in order to clear up these allegations. Not an hour goes by that there isn't an additional allegation, and unfortunately the Congress in general and the Senate Armed Services Committee in particular have been, up until this morning, kept completely in the dark.

the vice president does not discuss private conversations that he has with members of Congress . . . or information that may be exchanged with members.

The problem... is that most members of Congress don't pay attention to what's going on.

We were trying to pull the Senate back from going over a precipice. We wanted to preserve the rights of the minority. ... It was a bipartisan effort.

There is no doubt in my mind that Rudy Giuliani in the Senate will be a leader for the people of New York but also for the people of Arizona and the people all over this country,

The major reason I'm running for president of the United States is right here in this room, ... I want to get young people back into the political process and part of the government.

I know that money corrupts. I would rather have a clean government than one where First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I'd rather have the clean government.

no individual in the custody or under the physical control of the US Government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

Today more people lose their seats in the Politburo in Havana than in the Congress of America, ... We need to have competitive races for the Legislature. ... We have to have a clash of ideas.

My preference would be to remain in the Senate, ... But you can't say I would refuse to serve in one of those (Cabinet) capacities. It's not the same as vice president.

Let us have the administration come to Congress. I think they will get that authority, whatever is reasonable and needed, and increased abilities to monitor communications are clearly in order.

Congress and the American people have good reason to fear that we are heading toward another permanent garrison of Americans in a Balkan country where our mission is confused, and our exit strategy a complete mystery.

All this leaves McCain less than optimistic. The fact that his bill got 54 votes in this past session, almost all of them Democratic, doesn't mean much. Everyone knew it wouldn't pass, so it was a free gesture. Let's accept the premise that Congress is not going to institute a reform that changes a system that dramatically favors incumbents, ... So what would make them change would only be public opinion and pressure. Some of us believe that pressure is strong and is going to get stronger as a result of the Thompson committee hearings. The question is, 'Is that pressure going to be strong enough'

one of the more Byzantine kind of scenarios that I have observed in the years that I have been in Congress.

On my honor, I swear to you, that from my first day in office to the last breath I draw, I will do everything in my power to make you proud of your government,

We won because we're going to take the government out of the hands of the special interests and give it back to you,

I've always said the scandal in Washington was the conduct of the 1996 campaign where every institution of government was debased in the effort to raise money. I think it will be investigated and will drive us to campaign finance reform, hopefully sooner rather than later,

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, has criticized the government for having never really even made any serious attempt at keeping track of the revenues ... just way out of sight.

The Congress should have been notified of this situation a long time ago. It's a neglect of the responsibilities that Secretary Rumsfeld and the civilian leaders of the Pentagon have to keep the Congress informed of an issue of this magnitude.

What we've seen in the past is an irresistible temptation on the part of some members of Congress to use these emergency supplements as a vehicle to lard on pork-barrel projects which are in no way related,

And the people who live in the southern part of my state do not have a secure environment. To wit, there are signs that the government put up that say, 'Warning. You are in a drug smuggling area and a human smuggling area.'

It's a great tragedy. This young man's mother gave her life in the effort to gain his freedom, and now the United States government is sending him back to a life under communism.