Peter DeFazio Quotations

In recent years, breweries and brew pubs have flourished across the Nation. And, as the Representative from Oregon's fourth district, I have enjoyed seeing the diversity that craft brewery has fueled across the Nation.

There is a lot of lip service paid in this Congress and downtown at the White House about family values and small business. Who better represents family values and small business than the fishermen and women on the Oregon and California coast.

Second, the resolution contains the blatantly false assertion that negotiating a timeline for bringing U.S. troops home with the Iraqi government undermines U.S. national security. Such a statement shows a misunderstanding of the enemy we face in Iraq.

Of the 55 refineries closed in America in the last 10 years, they were all closed for economic reasons, mostly oil company mergers. Not a single one was closed for environmental purposes or objections.

Even the majority of the Sunnis have grown tired of foreign terrorists operating in Iraq.

First off, the crude oil market, unlike every other commodity in America, is virtually unregulated.

In crude oil trading, we have seen a 46 percent increase over 1 year in the margins there.

Similarly, establishing a firm timeline for bringing our troops home could accelerate the development of Iraqi security forces and deepen their commitment to defending their own country and their own government.

Essentially, when we run a deficit, we are borrowing money to buy things that are made overseas.

The training and equipping of Iraqi security forces should be accelerated.

About 75 percent of the crude oil marketed here is sold off the books, and they are doing trades that would be illegal if it was a regulated market, and of course they do not want to regulate it.

But they are not going to take on Big Oil because Big Oil is very generous at campaign time, and this is all about the elections. They want to pretend that they are doing something meaningful.

Unfortunately it was tied up into a Christmas tree package, and it was take it or leave it - and you can't leave troops out in the cold.

We're looking at another kind of disaster to counties and schools across the country if this legislation isn't reauthorized,

If they (airports) want to bring in the private vendors, I think they need to provide their own insurance,

Given the large size of the illegal harvest, the relatively clear boundary (a steep ridgeline and road) ... I find it difficult to understand how this could have been a casual oversight,

If it's good enough for 2 percent of the pilots, why not all the pilots?

We talked about the fact that we have done nothing really to secure the air side of the airport,

I said to Mr. Bowles, 'That would be like me saying to you that the only reason that you were an ardent supporter of fast track is because you're a very wealthy man with a very large stock portfolio and you're making money, tons of money, because of these trade policies,

I won't be flying out of Sioux Falls, ... Before 9-11, screeners had trouble in tests detecting fully assembled large caliber handguns and today that's not a problem.

I would just cancel the mission to Mars, ... I don't think we should pay a trillion dollars to go to Mars, as the president is proposing.

We're using 1970s technology -- it's not very good at finding bombs,

We're going to be tapping into Social Security trust fund for what you're asking for today, ... Let's have support for a modest security surcharge. How many people are going to turn down a ticket at $303 rather than $300? This is the same thing I've been hearing for 15 years.

We are outsourcing all of the United States industrial base to China. That also has national security along with economic implications in the future.

To the contrary, I believe the U.S. military has already done all that has been asked of them. Saddam Hussein is on trial. The threat from alleged weapons of mass destruction programs in Iraq has been neutralized.

easily concealed, easily smuggled, very inexpensive. And we've got to get ahead of this. We've got to do what we can to prevent their acquisition and usage.

It would have given him authority to do anything he wanted, anytime, anywhere.

A timeline for bringing U.S. troops home that is negotiated with the Iraqi government would also boost the Iraqi government's legitimacy and claim to self-rule, and force the Iraqi government to take responsibility for itself and its citizens.

It was Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda who attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2001, not Saddam Hussein and Iraq.

It's the Grinch who stole Christmas, ... In a petty move, the Bush administration has banned minor activities such as Christmas tree harvesting and mushroom picking to express their opposition to a judge's ruling. The action is particularly ill-timed considering the short harvest season for mushrooms and Christmas trees. Precedent clearly shows that these kind of activities are not subject to administrative appeals. The Forest Service should rescind this punitive order and allow people who rely on these activities for their livelihood to pay the bills and put food on the table.

The U.S. must renounce any U.S. interest in constructing permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.

The U.S. cannot impose freedom, security, and unity in Iraq by force.

The U.S. cannot force Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds to make peace or to act for the common good. They have been in conflict for 1,400 years.

These people on this side of the aisle are in favor of states rights everyday of the week are standing up and saying, 'we're for state's rights, as long as we agree with the state' preempting the will of the people of Oregon. It's not the state of Oregon. It's the people of the state of Oregon twice by initiative and referendum who passed this law.

The message I want to convey is that it is not too late to make meaningful changes in this program.

If the president would put it in his budget, we could pass it, ... If it isn't in there, it's going to be tough.

In addition to a timeline, I have proposed that U.S. troops be removed from front line combat positions in Iraqi cities and towns, turning over daily security patrols, interactions with citizens, and any offensive security actions to the Iraqis themselves.

Nor should the U.S. military be forced to remain in Iraq essentially as an army for one side of a civil war.

The crude oil market, unlike every other commodity in America, is virtually unregulated.

To the contrary, I believe the U.S. military has already done all that has been asked of them. Saddam Hussein is on trial. The threat from alleged weapons of mass destruction programs in Iraq has been neutralized.

The U.S. must renounce any U.S. interest in constructing permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.

There is no free market in oil.

The U.S. cannot impose freedom, security, and unity in Iraq by force.

The U.S. cannot force Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds to make peace or to act for the common good. They have been in conflict for 1,400 years.

Saddam Hussein was a brutal tyrant. I am glad he is now on trial for crimes against humanity. But, opposition to a dictator is not the measure I use when deciding whether to send our men and women in uniform off to war and possible death.

Given the large size of the illegal harvest, ... I find it difficult to understand how this could have been a casual oversight.

It was Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda who attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2001, not Saddam Hussein and Iraq.

A timeline for bringing U.S. troops home that is negotiated with the Iraqi government would also boost the Iraqi government's legitimacy and claim to self-rule, and force the Iraqi government to take responsibility for itself and its citizens.

In addition to a timeline, I have proposed that U.S. troops be removed from front line combat positions in Iraqi cities and towns, turning over daily security patrols, interactions with citizens, and any offensive security actions to the Iraqis themselves.

I don't think there is anything this Congress could do more definitively to put people back to work, to stimulate our economy to increase our efficiency, our competitiveness, both nationally and internationally

It is failing the American people miserably.