Government Process Quotes

Public participation in the process of government is the essence of democracy.

One thing I think is least realistic is that there were five people that made decisions in the fictional 'West Wing.' In real life, there are about five million people that weigh in.

You cannot rely on House or Senate staff to pass a piece of legislation for you, but if you have antagonized staff, they can block you.

When you're trying to make decisions in the executive branch, sometimes these news reports get inside your decision making cycle.

Government likes committees... a lot. Committees kill all the really good ideas and generally all the really bad ideas. They produce middle-ground mush.

God's greatest gift: the conference committee.

I happen to agree with many of President Obama's policies, but in our system, it is often as important how you do something as what you do.

Unfortunately, even during a pandemic we've seen a process in Washington that makes no sense for the needs of Mainers.

You can't possibly know everything that's in those bills ... you have to trust the leadership.

The question for the Republicans running the confirmation hearings in the United States Senate is whose rules are they going to use?

I grew up when 'Schoolhouse Rock' taught millions of American kids how a bill becomes a law.

Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.

There’s a sausage machine on Capitol Hill. We’ve given the sausage machine the right kind of ingredients. Now it’s up to the sausage machine to turn out the right kind of legislation.

I think New Jersey's process is actually a very good one - the good government. The governor presents the budget, you've got one-on-one meetings, you've got leadership meetings, you've got hearings, more importantly, that are transparent and open.

[George W.] Bush, with lots of help from the nation’s highest court, was allowed to run out the clock in what is not supposed to be a mere game.

As ordinary citizens, we don't spend much time reading about and thinking through the creation of new laws or amendments of old ones.

The Senate is not the sort of place where instant gratification, I should say, is very likely.

You might not think of something like TurboTax as a civic venture, but that product took a confusing interface to a government process and made it simpler and easier to use for citizens.

The growth of constitutional government, as we now understand it, was promoted by the establishment of two different sets of machinery for making laws and carrying on government.

There are certain things that we cannot accomplish by law or by any process of government.

You have to have patience to be a legislator.

The whip's office is almost more educational - educating members on the bill itself, listening to members ahead of time.