Quotations

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

«The right thing for the United States right now is to refocus on the fight against terrorism,»

«The few minor changes that the White House agreed to do not address the major problems with the Patriot Act that a bipartisan coalition has been trying to fix for the past several years. We've come too far and fought too hard to agree to a few insignificant changes.»

«Last week the president of the United States gave his State of the Union address, where he spoke of America's leadership in the world, and called on all of us to 'lead this world toward freedom.' Again and again, he invoked the principle of freedom, and how it can transform nations, and empower people around the world. But, almost in the same breath, the president openly acknowledged that he has ordered the government to spy on Americans, on American soil, without the warrants required by law. The president issued a call to spread freedom throughout the world, and then he admitted that he has deprived Americans of one of their most basic freedoms under the Fourth Amendment to be free from unjustified government intrusion.»

«I think we have to at least openly consider at what point we can bring our troops home or, at least, to begin to bring our troops home. Not only from the point of view of making sure there is support from the American people for this continued effort but also to consider whether the large presence of American troops here could contribute to or feed the insurgency and whether in any way it makes it more difficult for a government of national unity to be created.»

«It?s the reality of a situation like this that when you have a large troop presence that it has the tendency to fuel the insurgency, because they can make the incorrect and unfair claim that somehow the United States is here to occupy this country, which of course is not true.»

«We had a real chance to pass a bill that would both reauthorize the tools to prevent terrorism and fix the provisions that threaten the rights and freedoms of innocent Americans. This conference report... falls well short of that goal. I will vote no.»

«I have been assured by the chairman of the federal budget committee that the milk tax provision would not be included in the next federal spending bill. But that doesn't mean we're not going to keep an eye on the matter. The tax is something that our dairy industry cannot afford.»

«It is not only all right but necessary to stand up to George Bush.»

«We let them intimidate us. We have to show we're strong.»