Richard Gephardt Quotes (96 Quotes)

Everybody needs to decide this on their own, what their conscience dictates, what their hearts and minds tell them to do,

We believe that he's Burton disqualified himself because of the way he's conducted himself he has not been shown to be impartial and objective he has put out hundreds of subpoenas without a vote from the committee for the first time in the history of the committee and lately he's been putting out edited transcripts of what should have been confidential conversations, but he's gone the further step of editing them to make them look bad for the administration,

Mr. Pitt is not behaving in a trustworthy manner that will bring credibility back to the market and restore investor confidence, and I again urge President Bush to ask Harvey Pitt to step aside from his post today,

We're not playing games here.

If this Enron case is not the convincing argument for campaign reform, I don't know what is,

There is now widespread agreement that this measure will do next to nothing for the American people,

We are working together here in the Congress in a completely nonpartisan way,

I don't think there is a way to prove that, but I think we all suspect that, ... I think it is clear that these are people that are both up to no good and people that knew what they are doing.

We must take immediate action to maximize the safety of all Americans, ... It is a debate about meeting the needs of our country now, not waiting for several months.

This could have been a bipartisan bill, but the White House squandered that opportunity, ... Instead, what we have is a Republican bill, a bill that will now go into an endless conference committee. This is exactly what the HMOs want.

I believe we have an obligation to protect the United States by preventing him from getting these weapons and either using them himself or passing them or their components on to terrorists who share his destructive intent,

Unbending to consensus, uninterested in collaboration and compromise, they refuse to think anew and act anew in light of the attacks because of unwavering ideological opposition to expanding the number of federal law enforcement officers,

They've scheduled two hours debate on a trillion dollar tax cut. That's crazy.

The words are not particularly helpful, ... Obviously, this stuff gets in the air and stays in the air and it is small in nature, which means it's milled. You can call it anything you want. It's not safe stuff.

We will work to make the broken places right again. We will rebuild New York. We will work on a bipartisan package to strengthen the economy, ... will help unemployed workers in the airline, aerospace, tourist and other industries affected by the attack.

We gain courage and effort and a desire to work with you from what you have done, ... We are trying to be ... half as good as you have been in what we do.

This is a moment Republicans and Democrats can vote 'yes,' to get these secret organizations to commit to full disclosure,

This plan has failed. We should not keep half of a failure or a quarter of a failure, ... Let's change the policy and do something else.

I must tell you I am ashamed when top leaders in this country and citizens of this country and even the president of the United States suggest to the people of this country that there should be an amendment to the constitution to take away rights from people rather than giving rights to people,

We are locked into a process that is based on a tax proposal that was put together a year ago, when the economy was very different than it is today, ... There is a lack of willingness to adjust and modify and respond with an economic plan that is in tune with today.

I think you can disagree with someone and still deeply respect them and like them, as I like the president and respect the president,

It certainly wasn't an intentional mistake, ... No one understood that the machinery at the post office and the way it worked might tend to get this stuff in the air.

The right way includes an immediate tax for those Americans most affected by the economic slowdown and a budget that leaves enough money to pay off the debt, invest in the needs and priorities of the American people, and keep interest rates low and our economy strong,

This is not something where I go off and make decisions. I have to talk to my colleagues, talk with the caucus. We have an ethics process in this House that has to be respected. We're going to do these things in the right way,

If you vote for (House Speaker) Newt (Gingrich) and the Republicans, you get more investigations and you might rename an airport once in a while,

This is a test for our country, ... This Week.

If enacted this year, campaign finance reform would reduce the power of corporations and wealthy individuals in our politics, ... Unfortunately, the special interests and their Republican allies in Congress are fighting to keep these bills from passing.

I hope now that the Administration will rethink this approach and submit a fast track bill that accounts for labor, environmental, narcotics enforcement and human rights issues.

It reveals that the tax cut is so big it gobbles up virtually the entire available surplus, forcing cuts in vital programs like Medicaid and the State Children's Health Program.

The problem now is the president did his photo op -- he landed on the aircraft carrier, declared the war was over -- but he's never had a plan, and he's never gotten us the help that we need and our troops deserve from other countries,

The story comes from The Onion, the joke news Web site. Or at least a joke to most people outside of Beijing. Three years ago, you may recall, an Onion spoof had Congress threatening to move out of Washington. If a new building with more bathrooms and better parking wasn't erected, the article said, U.S. lawmakers were prepared to pack up and move to Memphis or Charlotte. If we want to stay competitive, we need to upgrade, ... Look at the British Parliament. Look at the Vatican. ... Without modern facilities, they've been having big problems attracting top talent.

I feel strongly that we need to try to use the same process of collaboration and communication that we have on terrorism to fight the recession and get the economy going for long-term growth.

The Republicans say the government ought to be run like a business, ... How many businesses give dividends without knowing their profits

I'm seeking the presidency because foreign policy isn't a John Wayne movie, where we catch the bad guys, hoist a few cold ones and then everything fades to black,

Look, he's got the House, he's got the Senate, ... He can do whatever he wants. I mean, the bulk of the people in the Republican Party would like to have a 2 trillion tax cut. I'm worried it'll be a 3 trillion tax cut.

This is a bad bill. It is not worthy of passing, ... It is all focused on production ... and it's not paid for -- and that, in and of itself, is enough reason to vote against this bill.

This is a Bart Simpson Congress underachievers and proud of it.

send the wrong signal to the world community about what our priorities and standards in trade should be.

My hope is that we can effectively and expeditiously receive this plan from the president, work it through the Congress, and try to make it a reality as quickly as possible,

Instead of diving in a tax cut feeding frenzy, Republicans should first put together a budget proposal which outlines their priorities and the context in which any tax cut must be placed,

One of the most important virtues of the American character is our ability to approach the complexities that life presents us with common sense and decency, ... The considered judgment of the American people is not going to rise or fall on the fine distinctions of a legal argument but on straight talk and the truth. It is time for the president and the Congress to follow that common sense for the good of the country.

Don't let them fool you that we have a deal. We don't. We're not going to have a rush job here and vote for that much of a bill that we haven't read,

I think we've got to try our best to come together, to collaborate, try to move this budget in the right direction and get the country out of recession and start building stable, good jobs for American people.

If you want to live like a Republican, you have to vote for Democrats

a strong voice and an accomplished leader.

I get frustrated when everyone on all of this is trying to infuse political motives into these decision, ... I mean, lets get serious. We're not playing games here. This is life and death.

We believe that vouchers, which are in President Bush's plan, do not further the goal of improving public schools,

Some would argue that this is just about trade, ... I would remind them that our greatest export is not our products ... Our greatest export is our ideals and our values.

Obviously, you don't get everything you want, ... But I think the committee threaded the needle in terms of balancing constitutional protections with giving proper authority to the attorney general and to the law enforcement agencies to be able to carry out the best investigation -- hopefully successful investigation -- that we can.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, has said she doesn't understand how electric generator executives can sleep at night. ... less than optimal solutions that don't really solve the problem.