James Sensenbrenner Quotations

We are here today because President William Jefferson Clinton decided to put himself above the law, not once, not twice, but repeatedly,

The problem with the Senate Amber bill is that it doesn't do anything that isn't already being done,

Senators, don't be fooled by the president's excuses and spin control, ... The facts and the evidence clearly show that he knew what he was doing was to deceive everyone, including the grand jury. He and his defenders are still in denial. They will not accept the consequence of his repeated and criminal attempts to defeat the judicial process.

should be commended for the timing and thoroughness of these answers.

I believe there is unquestionable need for such legislation, ... In fact, I am convinced that our homeland security depends upon it.

Frivolous lawsuits against the food industry present the latest effort undermining personal responsibility. An overwhelming majority of Americans oppose these abusive lawsuits and are disgusted by these frivolous claims,

I get very, very queasy when federal law enforcement is effectively ... going back to the bad old days when the FBI was spying on people like Martin Luther King, ... Novak, Hunt and Shields.

If someone in Katrina is down and out, and has no possibility of being able to repay 40 percent or more of their debts, then the new bankruptcy law doesn't apply,

What we end up passing will probably be a blend of several proposals,

We have to be forward-looking in how we explore space,

It is imperative that we not play political games with the tools that our law enforcement needs to prevent another terrorist attack.

Lawsuits seeking to hold the firearms industry responsible for the criminal and unlawful use of its products are brazen attempts to accomplish through litigation what has not been achieved by legislation and the democratic process,

Large FBI foul-ups used to be extraordinary events, yet now they appear to be deteriorating into regular occurrences.

I will work closely with the Judicial Conference with the goal of ensuring that our federal courts are safe and that judges need not fear for their lives or the welfare of their families.

The president engaged in a conspiracy of crimes to prevent justice from being served. These are impeachable offenses for which the president should be convicted.

The Patriot Act has been a vital tool in the investigation and interception of terrorist activities.

When a person's intentions regarding whether to receive lifesaving treatment are unclear, the responsibility of a compassionate nation is to affirm that person's right to life, ... In our public actions, we must build a culture of life that welcomes and defends all human life.

We're doing this to stop the next terrorists and to take necessary steps to protect the American people,

While the people of New Orleans and other affected areas clearly need help, I am not convinced that this legislation will provide it,

Those people who are against this bill don't want any changes in the existing system except perhaps amnesty, or, excuse me, 'earned legalization,' or perhaps citizenship for those who have broken the law.

We cannot leave an investigation of this matter to a behind-closed-doors review by the intelligence community and intelligence committees.

to justify why the 1976 regulations on domestic spying, that have worked so well for the last 25 or 26 years, have to be changed.

To justify the president's criminal behavior by demonizing those who seek to hold him accountable ignores the fact that President Clinton's actions and those actions alone precipitated the investigations which have brought us here today,

Either the conference report passes or the entire legislative process begins again.

Earthquakes may be inevitable, but catastrophic losses in life and property can be avoided if we use science and technology to help communities prepare, ... This legislation represents a sensible, long-term investment that will pay for itself many times over in saved lives and reduced property losses.

Corporate criminals will do real time. Real long time, ... It goes a long way to protect the life savings of many Americans by making the price of theft too high.

Federal law says that when there is a division between the houses in Congress, the set of electors that is certified by the governor by the state is the one that counts. That's going that's going to set off a firestorm of controversy.

These murderers chose our driver's licenses and state ID's as a form of identification because these documents allowed them to blend in and not raise suspicion or concern,

So that when people get on airplanes after showing their ID, we know who they really are, and when they open up bank accounts, we will know who they really are also.

one day, they can simply go online and find out whether their files are complete.

Now is the time for Carol Browner and EPA to grant the waiver,

a recipe for disaster -- the same kind of disaster that occurred on 9/11.

As one judge put it, if a person knows or should know that eating copious orders of super-sized McDonald's products is unhealthy and could result in weight gain, it is not the place of the law to protect them from their own excess.

That's what we were trying to stop by changing the provisions in the conference report, and I regret that we failed. But I can assure you this issue is not going to go away,

that the Levi guidelines had been tossed into the wastebasket.

That's not the 'pennies' per gallon the White House and EPA are asserting,

You would think that Halloween is tomorrow because of their attempt to scare the American public.

This is a big government bill. It creates a new federal agency that provides for more regulation and is not self-financing,

creation and maintenance of a court system that allows citizens to adjudicate disputes is a fundamental responsibility of government.

It's better to do it right than to do it in a half-baked manner.

These suits would be laughable if they were not so harmful,

The intended consequence of these frivolous lawsuits could not be more clear -- the financial ruin of the firearms industry.

I intend to applaud respectfully out of respect to the office, not out of respect to the individual.

Intense congressional and public scrutiny has not produced a single substantiated claim that the Patriot Act has been misused to violate Americans' civil liberties. Opponents of the legislation have relied upon exaggeration and hyperbole to distort a demonstrated record of accomplishment and success.

Instead of taking action to bring down gas prices dramatically before the Fourth of July holiday, (Vice President Al) Gore, Browner and President Clinton are pointing fingers to blame everyone, but not themselves, for busting the summer vacation budgets of millions of Americans,

In addition to threatening the food industry and its 12 million employees, these noxious lawsuits raise the food costs to American consumers,

I don't like to vote for things on serious issues that might look good on a bumper sticker but which I know have so many loopholes that they won't work.

the truth is still the truth and a lie is still a lie.

The House managers submit witnesses are essential to give heightened credence to whatever judgment the Senate chooses to make on each of the articles of impeachment against President Clinton.

The EPA doesn't know the economic consequences of its decisions, ... They made a foolish, wrong mistake and our consumers are paying for it.

The measure of a nation's commitment to the sanctity of life is reflected in its laws and to the extent those laws honor and defend its most vulnerable citizens.