Frank Lautenberg Quotations

Municipal networks expand economic opportunities. We've got to open new doors, not slam them shut.

One thing I have learned in my time in politics is that if one of the parties is shameless, the other party cannot afford to be spineless.

Anybody who has ever been in business, anybody who has ever paid bills, anybody who has ever lived in a serious adult life knows that indebtedness is a killer.

People at .08 are too impaired to drive. Studies show that at .08, the ability to perform critical driving functions is decreased by as much as 60 percent.

Should those whose actions lead to the death or injury of a child get a free pass?

The President should spend his time going after the terrorists rather than sharing sensitive counter terrorism information with countries that sponsor terrorism.

I say I don't need a tax cut. It will not do me any more good. I can't buy more, I can't eat more, I can't do more, and I want it distributed among the ordinary people who work every day.

I ask the vice president to stop dodging the issue with legalese, and acknowledge his continued ties with Halliburton to the American people.

I had hoped to hear the President tonight tell the Congress and the American people exactly how he plans to tackle some of the important issues facing this country, unfortunately I did not.

Was there a 12-hour shredding party at the White House that night? ... We don't know, but I hope that the prosecutor examines this troubling disclosure.

I believe the vice president is an honorable man, ... I just think he made a mistake.

given recent developments of which we are all aware.

When historians write the closing chapter of 20th century, they'll write about the critical leadership, Mr. President, you've provided,

What you just saw was a magic show. It's quite incredible -- sleight of hand, smoke and mirrors.

Keeping a Cold War era base open and closing Fort Monmouth, which is essential to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , makes no sense,

I think we're getting down to almost a silly discussion,

Lifetime appointments to our federal courts in New Jersey affect the lives of all our residents. I will urge the full Senate to confirm these judges.

Our country, ... is the only major industrialized country without a standard of .08.

The Democrats voted against this budget resolution, and it wasn't so much on the issues we wanted to have taken care of. Listening to the debate, each of us wants to protect Social Security in different ways. One can observe that we both want to do something about Medicare, but in different degrees and in different ways.

What an irony it is, the senator from Colorado objects to a simple resolution,

At this critical time, CMS should have a user-friendly, informative and easy to understand Medicare Web page,

There's little devils in the details. I don't expect Congress to rubber stamp it.

People at .08 are too impaired to drive, ... Studies show that at .08, the ability to perform critical driving functions is decreased by as much as 60 percent.

Any properties that are available, we ought to be able to get our hands on.

This is a reasonable standard we know will save lives.

This is a Christmas package designed for delivery to the oil industry, and we have got to fight as hard as we can to stop that delivery.

This is the group who sunk him last time, ... The people who might have voted for him and held their noses stayed home.

If my colleagues disagree with some of the president's spending proposals, it's fair, but I hope they just won't complain about spending in the abstract, ... I would urge them to be specific. Which of the president's initiatives do you want to block? Education, health care, child care, the tax cuts for families with kids in day care?

I guess that's the way it is when you're walking out,

All further relations with Saudi Arabia must be entirely contingent on the kingdom's progress cracking down, reigning in and snuffing out its terrorist problem. Deeds -- not words -- must be the benchmark of Saudi progress in solving the terrorist problem that threatens its society as much as it threatens our own.

a good kick in the pants would help.

The compelling factor, I've got to tell you, in my decision was the searing reality that I would have to spend half of every day between now and the next election fund-raising,

Judge Samuel Alito's accomplishments in life are the embodiment of the American dream.

Judge Samuel Alito was born and raised in the great state of New Jersey. Our state has a legacy of producing outstanding jurists, most notably the late William J. Brennan, who ushered in our nation's recommitment to civil rights in the latter half of the 20th century.

We depend on the Supreme Court to uphold the integrity of our government.

The ocean is tired. It's throwing back at us what we're throwing in there.

So the effect of this Republican provision to allow doctors to be gagged from even discussing abortion with their patients is outrageous.

I believe that justices must recognize that our Constitution is an 18th-century document that needs to be applied in the context of the 21st century.

Having members of the Bush administration actually sit down and discuss counter terrorism with the very countries that support terrorists is absurd.

Flip-flopping is kind of an easy thing to identify. During a recent convention, we heard an irate Senator make an angry speech declaring that it is not what you say but, rather, what you do that counts. You flip-flop when you make promises and fail to fulfill them.

Our mandate is to be a nation of laws. And the Supreme Court is the place where we look to safeguard our civil rights and our individual liberties.

I'm convinced that our duty to provide advice and consent for justices of the Supreme Court is our most important constitutional responsibility.

We have other legislation that all of you are aware that I have been so active on, with my colleagues here, and that is to shut down the gun shows.