Charles Rangel Quotations

We owe it to the flood victims of New Orleans to give them truthful answers as to why this event took place and to assure our citizens that tragedies like this will never happen again.

If there's no relationship with a father who's absent, nobody talks about it.

A quality education grants us the ability to fight the war on ignorance and poverty.

Our immigration policy should be driven by what is in the best interest of this great country and the American people. Comprehensive immigration reform will strengthen U.S. security and boost economic growth.

Meanwhile, our young men and women whose economic circumstances make military service a viable career choice are dying bravely in a war with no end in sight.

We love the ability of the people to influence the actions of decision-makers, of lawmakers and presidents to be removed from or elevated to office by the will of voters, and of the community to connect amongst diverse populations through the ballot box.

As a Korean War veteran, I know firsthand and understand the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform.

Honoring the sacrifices many have made for our country in the name of freedom and democracy is the very foundation of Veterans Day.

The promise of the American Dream requires that we are all provided an equal opportunity to participate in and contribute to our nation.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was indeed a vital instrument of democracy, ensuring the integrity and reliability of a democratic process that we as a Country hold so dear.

I am a firm believer that upon release, ex-offenders should be afforded a second chance to become productive citizens by providing rehabilitation and education that will help them join the workforce.

For a member to say, 'I'm a lame duck' violates political science 101.

Immigrants have faced huge obstacles to achieving the American Dream, yet have persevered to overcome them.

I, for one, would think both about how far we have come as a country and how much further we need to go to erase racism and discrimination from our society.

The challenges African-Americans are facing today are rooted in the system of slavery.

The Iraq war took priority over domestic disaster prevention.

Full participation in government and society has been a basic right of the country symbolizing the full citizenship and equal protection of all.

Regardless of the nature of their crime or any rehabilitation that may have occurred, these ex-felons cannot participate in the decision-making process of this great Nation.

Encouragement of higher education for our youth is critical to the success of our collective future.

Thousands of people may have been killed by hurricane Katrina and many more could die in its aftermath because of the President's refusal to heed the calls of governors for help in repairing the infrastructure in their states.

As a Korean War Veteran, I know too well the troubling nature of war. This is why I will always support a diplomatic answer before military intervention.

I don't want to respond to rumors that have no basis at all... But I am willing to respond to questions that the public and the press should know.

There were no weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein was not involved in the September 11th attack.

If you are spending too much, you cut back on spending and you raise your revenues. And that's it.

I've been beat up pretty badly. Pretty badly. Yet at the end of the day, everyone says I'm doing a pretty good job.

I'm in the kitchen and I'm not walking out.

If you got problems like unemployment, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and there's a guy that's always been there for you and for your family, then you say 'He's a nice guy. I don't know where he came from or how long he's been here, but Charlie Rangel's the man.' That's what I'm relying on.

Respecting our veterans includes providing them the ways and means they so desperately need to reintegrate into our lives and serve us again as productive members of our civilian community.

This country was founded upon the principle that we are all endowed with certain inalienable rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - those rights are what make America great, and they belong to each and every one of us.

I am running for re-election no matter who runs.

Without question, conditions in the Haiti are worse since Aristide's removal, and continue to deteriorate.

I really think that most people around the world know how well-intended Americans are.

I'm just glad that my community has faith and confidence in me.

The people who couldn't get out of New Orleans to escape the storm were predominantly Black.

The United States is historically a nation of immigrants.

The victor will be the one who gets the most voters out.

I have a record that I'm so very, very proud of, and no campaign is going to take that away.

Reapportionment is not friendly to a lot of communities and it hasn't been too friendly to mine.

Of course things get stagnant; people get too used to their environment, but that's why I'm in my district every week, at meetings with my constituents.

As a nation we should commit ourselves not only to the fight against terrorism, but to economic justice, defeat of the AIDS epidemic and vestiges of discriminatory policies of all kinds.

I don't know whether the number of any particular Latino group has made or will make any particular difference in the issues that I am concerned with.

The President is destroying the fabric of America with a combined policy of war, tax cuts for the wealthy, and reductions in spending for domestic needs.

Today many Caribbean workers can be found in the hospital, construction, service and hotel industries, but there is also a growing professional sector.

Watch Freddy Ferrer and remember this election; it's not only going to be an election for our city, it's going to be a signal for what happens in the Senate, in the House of Representatives, and it's going to be a signal for change in the country,

If a young fella has an option of having a decent career or joining the army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq.

Im sick and tired of politicians beating up on the IRS. We have the best and fairest tax-collection system in the world.

Mississippi gets more than their fair share back in federal money, but who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?

The Klan had used fear, intimidation and murder to brutally oppress over African-Americans who sought justice and equality and it sought to respond to the young workers of the civil rights movement in Mississippi in the same way.

Hurricane season routinely strikes the Caribbean harder than the U.S.

At least 23,000 civilians have also died in the Iraqi killing field and the U.S. is stuck in a quagmire.

Well, I really think that shatters the myth of white supremacy once and for all.

The use of our military in combat should first require declaration of war. I have long called for reinstating the military draft, simply because I believe strongly that a national decision to go to war must also include a broad commitment to share its burdens. Whenever Congress decides to fund a war or other U.S. combat activities, it must provide a means to pay for it-then and there-not later. If we don't have the will to fully share the burdens of war, then we have no right to send our sons and daughters into harm's way.

My president will boldly throw 1 million into poverty.

We all have a large stake in preserving our democracy, but I maintain that those without power in our society, the black, the brown, the poor of all colors, have the largest stake not because we have the most to lose, but because we have worked the hardest, and given the most, for what we have achieved.

I never thought I'd miss Nancy Reagan. There can't be a rating [on the Clinton drug policy] when there hasn't been a performance.

I assume the president's going to say he got bad intelligence... I think that wherever you see poverty, whether it's in the white rural community or the black urban community, you see that the resources have been sucked up into the war and tax cuts for the rich.

From a high-tech point of view, an agriculture point of view, a goods-and-services point of view, a great deal of [committee Democrats] have no choice except to support allowing America access to these markets.

My father was absolutely no good.

Now is the time for the U.S. and the nations of Western Europe who engaged in the slave trade throughout this hemisphere to come forward in a positive way to assist in undoing the harm that was caused by their past colonial policies in the hemisphere.

I was motivated to join in large part because my family needed the money. I would like to say how patriotic we were, but really what motivated me was the excitement my mother would get in receiving a check for my older brother.

It's impossible for us to forecast what's going to happen ten years from now and make a decision today to say what we're going to do.

Enough is enough. This is how we get started in Vietnam.

The panel has set back, rather than advanced, the prospects for reform by failing to offer realistic proposals that fairly distribute the tax burden across income levels and the states,

Many of the undocumented immigrants from the Caribbean islands have been living, working and making vital contributions to our country for many years.

Millions of American citizens who have been convicted of crimes in the past are denied the ability to cast ballots in elections.

I think America and the world wants us to show the outrage not by rhetoric, but by taking action,

I think it's wrong, whether it's President Clinton or President Bush, to take this extraordinary action without the direct support and consultation of the U.S. Congress as well as the U.N.,

Some of you know I've been reported as saying Eliot Spitzer is one of the smartest people in the world, if not the smartest. It takes a lot of political courage to reach out and make an independent decision.

I would like to believe he's sick rather than just mean and evil,

I worry that we are losing our capacity to feel the pain of this war for which few Americans have been called to sacrifice in any way.

We can only support a tax cut when we know what is going to happen with the rest of the budget,

We have a million people -- a million Americans out there that have worked every day, that have paid into the unemployment compensation package -- and the bad cops are saying, 'forget about it,'

We would like to know which of the president's recommendation's he would like to drop, ... We only have $250 billion left, since the president has figured this just right.

We've opened up our doors to Mexico, Central and South America, to all of Asia, and here is the richest continent we've got, ... We have to start somewhere.

The President's policies in Iraq contributed to the slow response of federal troops who should have been on alert even before the hurricane struck.

You can no longer raise money and support those people in Washington and say you're not one of them, ... It's like being half-pregnant. Either you're in or you're out.

You can't do this without winners and losers.

could have been done in a little office somewhere.

And yet, Republicans have held hostage every penny of relief until the Senate passes their special interest tax breaks,

Essentially, they've targeted the most vulnerable in our communities -- children, the aged, the blind and disabled -- for spending cuts that pave the way for tax cuts for the rich,

is the best political thing to happen to Freddy all week.

isn't awake enough to know what's going on.

The whole Republican rationale for passing such a big tax cut is that we needed to send the surpluses back to the people. How ironic is it that we are now borrowing from the people in order to pay them their checks?

Democracies are based on the principle that their citizens participate actively in the decision-making processes of the government.

Apparently, international drug cartels are increasingly using West Africa as a hub for drug shipments into Europe and North America.

This is basically a historic moment for those of us in Harlem. How seldom do we come to find that one of our own is going to be part of the leadership of this great state?

This bill has nothing to do with China. It has everything to do with getting votes for DR-CAFTA,

The Republicans have sequestered themselves in a room in order to piece together a political bill they know is going nowhere,

This little kid who was found abandoned in the ocean brought a face to the people who were in Miami -- a face that showed hatred, a face that showed ignorance, a face that showed they had no respect at all for the things that Americans believed in,

As we enter this annual season of threat in 2005, this Congress should take the lead in preparing our Caribbean neighbors for the events to come.

I truly believe that there's a little bit of Rosa Parks in all Americans who have the courage to say enough is enough and stand up for what they believe in. She did such a small thing, but it was so courageous for her as a humble person to do.

It's not 'spic' or 'nigger' any more. They say 'let's cut taxes.'

It's no profile in courage for us to say you are now able to borrow money from your pension fund and have it penalty free,

It never entered my mind that she was not going to be a candidate, ... And I do believe that she was taking a heavy hit on the fact that so many people were uncertain as to what she might do.

Oh no, it makes the country a lot more safe, ... The further Bush is away from Washington, the better it is. And sometimes I don't think even Cheney is awake enough to know what's going on.

The war has not changed the fact that our children need better schools, the sick need to be assured of patients' rights protections and our seniors need affordable prescription drug benefits,

I'm not certain that voters are sophisticated enough to see this as Republican wrongdoing rather than a crooked Congress, ... So we have to be very careful how we handle this.

I know the Republicans want to have a political gimmick to have on Valentine's day, and that's what this is about, ... It's not too late for us to work together. There's enough things for us to argue about come November, but I would think that the American people would want us to work together.

If the president wants to get serious, he will convene a true summit with leaders from both parties, ... The difficulties that the American people are feeling take more to solve than a half day an hour's drive from the ranch.

Clearly everyone wants a tax cut but you can't have a tax cut for a surplus that you don't have,