Tom Daschle Quotations | Page 4

I hope the president will agree to reduce the tax breaks for the very wealthy in order to restore this tax relief for hardworking taxpayers who need it most,

I intend to do all that I can to make that happen.

I indicated this morning it isn't where you start, it is where you end, ... And it is still my hope and expectation, really, that at the end of the day we are going to have a broad level of support on both sides of the aisle for a resolution that indicates our support for the United Nations effort and our support for the administration's effort in dealing with Iraq.

I'm very disappointed and somewhat surprised that there has been that kind of activity this early, ... It certainly violates the spirit of the agreement that we just all agreed to last week.

information that would lead anyone to believe that there is a higher threat level today than there has been for some time.

indicated that he's not really looking for a victory. He just wanted to have a debate.

In 1981 ... I sat in the House chamber when another new president talked to the American people about stimulating the economy,

important for the Senate to go on record

In areas where we agree, ... the president will have no stronger ally. In areas where we disagree, we will work with a renewed commitment to compromise.

I'm concerned about international developments that may or may not legitimately have any effect on the consequences of this legislation,

If the projections are off by even a fraction, the president's plan will send us back to the highest interest rates, highest unemployment and high debt that we saw at the end of the (previous) Bush administration,

If you burden any vehicle ultimately that vehicle stops,

In the end I believe the American people will support him,

Instead of passing another big tax cut that we can't afford -- a tax cut that leaves out middle-class families -- we need a fair, responsible tax cut,

Instead of finding a real solution to the growing unemployment crisis, this bill will give millions to those who don't need it and very little to those who do, ... It will add a trillion dollars to our national debt; spend the Social Security trust fund and ultimately lose more jobs.

I hope he's not going to suggest that we finish this bill over two travel days and a weekend, ... showcasing and posturing.

I haven't ruled anything out or anything in at this point.

If you make over $300,000 a year, this tax cut means you get to buy a new Lexus, ... If you make $50,000 a year you get to buy a muffler on your used car. That's the difference.

I support that decision, ... Many of my staff are directly affected and I think it is a wise course of action simply because of the unknowns, because of the uncertainty.

I question what purpose is served by additional exposure to the salacious details contained in the Starr report, ... We must find a way to proceed and avoid further bombardment of the airwaves and Internet with such material.

Clearly we know what the goal is here. The goal is to contain Milosevic. The goal is to stop the extraordinary violation of human rights. The goal is to undermine his military capability, ... We can achieve those goals.

highly respected men determined to cross party lines in order to solve our problems.

Before we make commitments in resources, I think we need to have a clear understanding of what the direction will be,

How can John Ashcroft enforce laws he has spent his entire public career fighting?

I don't know if anybody can say with any real confidence how good a job he's doing or the office is doing because we have such little information.

By choosing to oppose the University of Michigan, President Bush called into question his commitment to expanding opportunity for African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students,

By shipping nuclear waste on trucks and trains and barges, we may very well be creating hundreds, even thousands, of rolling dirty bombs. What sense does that make?

He took charge, and it made a big difference,

If if looks like we're going to face a filibuster, we're going to find the time and find the way to break that filibuster in the United States Senate.

I'd have to say that we could do a lot better than Harvey Pitt in that position today, ... huge disappointment.

I can't think of anything that would divide this nation more quickly, right off the bat, than to impress upon the Congress the importance of passing a tax cut of that magnitude,

I certainly agree with those who have grown impatient with hair-splitting over legal technicalities, ... There is a basic understanding of the standard of truthfulness that the president failed to meet.

I cannot recall a time when the gap between the demands we place on our soldiers and the thanks we offer them once they return home has been wider.

I don't see what purpose it serves by attacking one another at this point. If ever there was a time for us to present a unified front to Iraq, this ought to be it.

I asked President Clinton to give us his observations about how we might work more closely together, and also as to how we ought to look at our own responsibilities as we see them in creating our agenda this year, ... How we articulate them and how we mesh that agenda with our presidential candidate will be the topic for conversation with President Clinton.

I asked directly if we could delay this so we could depoliticize it. I said: 'Mr. President, I know this is urgent, but why the rush? Why do we have to do this now?' He looked at Cheney and he looked at me, and there was a half-smile on his face. And he said: 'We just have to do this now.'

I am absolutely shocked to read in the paper this morning the terrorists just got their visas yesterday. I, for the life of me, can't understand how something like that can happen,

I am pleased that Secretary Thompson has acknowledged the growing scandal over the Medicare drug bill and has pledged an independent inquiry into the misconduct,

I don't want to see them left high and dry just like the Enron employees were left high and dry without any pension funds, without any retirement security,

I don't think we are taken as seriously today as we were a few years ago.

I believe all options ought to be on the table,

I believe he would have been a great United States senator, just as he was a great governor,

He campaigned hard in the states that he largely won two years ago. He had some coattails,

Make no mistake, tax cheaters cheat us all, and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter.

Trust doesn't come haphazardly. It really has to be built over time. And that trust has to happen really at times when there isn't a crisis. That's why I think having regular meetings and conversation when there's no crisis, when you can build trust and a friendship and a relationship that allows for better dialogue and far more consequential deal-making can occur when a crisis does come up.

Literally minutes before the Senate cast its vote, the administration sought to add the words 'in the United States and' after 'appropriate force' in the agreed-upon text. This last-minute change would have given the president broad authority to exercise expansive powers not just overseas-where we all understood he wanted authority to act-but right here in the United States, potentially against American citizens. I could see no justification for Congress to accede to this extraordinary request for additional authority. I refused.

America has lost an icon. Ronald Reagan's leadership will inspire Americans for generations to come. His patriotism and devotion to our country will never be forgotten.

As the representatives of the people we are here to declare that our resolve has not been weakened by these horrific and cowardly acts.

This president failed so miserably in diplomacy that we are now forced to war.

If journalism is the first draft of history, then the Internet simply has provided a new means for delivering that draft far and wide very quickly.

We will also never bring up the permanent tax cut the president is advocating.

President Bush has said that the economy is growing, that there are jobs out there. But you know, it's a long commute to China to get those jobs.

If I could leave this body with one wish, it would be that we never give up that search for common ground, .. The politics of common ground will not be found on the far right, or on the far left. That is not where most Americans live. We will only find it on the firm middle ground, based on common sense and shared values.

There may not be much difference between Democrats and Republicans anymore.

While endangering one of the most pristine areas in the world, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would do nothing to make our country more energy independent.

I think we are isolating ourselves, and in so isolating ourselves, I think we're minimizing ourselves, I don't think we are taken as seriously today as we were a few years ago.

Diplomacy has been exhausted .. Continued instability in the Balkans threatens important U.S. national interests,.

[I am] saddened, saddened, that this president [Bush] failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to go to war. Saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country.

President Bush failed "miserably" at diplomacy, forcing the United States into war.

Their legislation actually creates a singles penalty that I believe will be the subject of further debate ... their amendment lopsidedly favors those at the very top of the economic scale at the expense of the middle class,

These are difficult issues, ... Economics has always separated our parties philosophically, and to overcome the philosophical differences is something that we are going to try and do.

This is a Congress that is much more interested in investigating than legislating,

Allegations that the administration withheld critical information from policymakers and threatened the career of a public servant must be fully and thoroughly investigated.

a high price to pay for testing that was not required this early in the schedule for missile defenses.

a great leader for our country because what he's saying is, you know, with all due respect, we don't think that this is right for our nation.

And it certainly involves dealing with holding certain suspects who may be the subject of investigative efforts.

All we're saying simply is that there are a lot of different factors that ought to be considered as you really strive to achieve diversity in our society and especially on campus. Race is among them,

All we are saying is that if we're going to have continued trade, let's at least ensure that the level of safety is equal on the other side of the border,

The gimmickry in this bill is enough to make an Enron executive blush.

All of the Rush Limbaugh wannabes have a very shrill edge.