“With gridlock the norm, Congress's approval rating is below 10 percent and the public has lost faith in its national leadership.” LostLeadershipPercentCongressApprovalNormRatingLost FaithApproval RatingGridlock Author:Ron Fournier
“All over the world, there are libraries of a sort. They are among the most beautiful places on the earth, and they hold more information than the Library of Congress. Within these libraries are millions of books, each a uniques masterpiece to see and touch. They are teaching this language to scientists. However, so far only one percent of the books have been deciphered. Some tell how to find new medicines; others reveal new things to eat... These treasure houses of knowledge are the ancient forests of our planet.” WorldHas BeensBookEarthBeautifulHouseLanguageMillionsTeachingInformationPlanetsPercentScientistMedicineLibraryCongressAncientTreasureForestsNew ThingsMasterpieceOur PlanetBeautiful Places Author:Brock Adams
“A new poll shows only 3 percent strongly approve of the job Congress is doing, with a margin of error of 4 percent, so it's possible that "less than no one" thinks they're doing a good job.” ThinkingShowsJobsPercentErrorsCongressGood JobPollsMargins Author:Jay Leno
“I'm asking Congress to pass my Zero Down Payment Initiative. We should remove the 3 percent down payment rule for first time home buyers with FHA-insured mortgages.” ShouldFirstsHomePercentFirst TimeAskingCongressRemoveZeroInitiativePaymentMortgageBuyers Author:George W. Bush
“Women's voices aren't heard often enough. Congress should reflect the population, but with only 20 percent women in the Senate and 18 percent in the House, it just doesn't.” ShouldEnoughHouseVoiceHeardPercentCongressPopulationSenate Author:Kirsten Gillibrand
“Most gun dealers follow the law and run honest businesses. But the statistics show that 1 percent of dealers sell more than half of all illegal guns. Why isn't the federal government going after them? Here's one reason: unlike mayors, members of Congress don't get a phone call in the middle of the night when a cop is shot and killed. They don't deliver the eulogies.” ReasonShowsGovernmentRunningLawNightHalfMiddleHonestMembersPercentGunShotsSellsCongressPhonesIllegalStatisticsCopFederal GovernmentMayorsPhone CallsDealerEulogyMiddle Of The NightIllegal Guns Author:Michael Bloomberg
“With a measly 18 percent of our Congress composed of women, the U.S. ranks just 77th in the world in terms of women in elected office, surpassed by such countries as Ezbekistan and Moldova.” WorldCountryTermUnited StatesOfficePercentCongress Author:Jackie Speier
“Unfortunately, the (budget) does not . . . help Congress reform such programs as Medicaid and Medicare, which both grow at average rate of around 8 percent each year through 2015 and will continue to eat up more of the total federal budget.” YearsDoeHelpingGrowsPercentProgramRateCongressAverageReformBudgetsMedicareMedicaid Author:John Cornyn
“In your country club, your church, and business, about fifteen percent of the people are screwballs, lightweights, and boobs, and you would not want those people unrepresented in Congress.” PeopleWantCountryChurchPercentCongressClubsFifteenCountry Clubs Author:Alan K. Simpson
“Sometimes I think the Congress feels that if you only decided tomorrow to switch to wind power that in two years we'd be getting 80 percent of our electricity from wind power. It's nonsense. Normally it takes 20 to 30 years after a new technology is demonstrated and deployed before it powers even 15 or 20 percent of the grid. There's this long lag time, and we haven't even decided which directions to go.” IfsThinkingFeelsYearsLongTwoSometimesTechnologyHavensWindTomorrowPercentDecidedCongressNonsenseTwo YearsElectricityNew TechnologyGridsLagWind Power Author:Paul R. Ehrlich
“Law Number XX: In any given year, Congress will appropriate the amount of funding approved the prior year plus three-fourths of whatever change the administration requests, minus 4-percent tax.” YearsLawThreeGivenNumbersAmountTaxesPercentCongressAdministrationAppropriatePlusFundingRequestApprovedMinus Author:Norman Ralph Augustine
“Most people are oblivious to F.A. Hayek's insight that the critical information needed to run an economy - or even 15 percent of one - doesn't exist in any one place where it is accessible to central planners. Instead, it is scattered piecemeal among millions of people. All those people put together are far wiser and better informed than Congress could ever be. Only markets - private property, free exchange and the price system - can put this knowledge at the disposal of entrepreneurs and consumers, ensuring the system will serve the people and not just the political class.” PeopleRunningTogetherPoliticalClassMillionsEconomyInformationNeededPercentEntrepreneurPropertyCongressInsightCriticalConsumersWiserPrivate PropertyObliviousPlannersHayek Author:John Stossel
“The death of American liberalism as a significant moral force can be traced to the point in when President Bill Clinton signed legislation that effectively ended the main federal anti-poverty program and turned the fate of welfare recipients, 70 percent of whom were children, over to the tender mercies of the states. With a stroke of the pen, Clinton eliminated what remained of New Deal-era compassion for the poor and codified into law the "tough love" callousness that his Republican allies in the Congress, led by Newt Gingrich, had long embraced.” ChildrenLongStatesLawForcePresidentPoorDealsCompassionMoralPovertyFateRepublicanPercentToughProgramMercyBillsClintonCongressSignificantErasWelfareLiberalismPensAlliesLegislationStrokesNewtsNew DealTough LoveCallousnessPresident Bill ClintonTender MerciesWelfare Recipients Author:Robert Scheer
“More than 70 percent of seniors are asking for more time. It is long overdue for Congress to listen and make sure that seniors have a prescription drug plan that works for them.” LongPlansDrugPercentAskingCongressMore TimeSeniorPrescriptionsPrescription DrugsOverdue Author:Dan Lipinski