Phil Gramm Quotations

We have benefited greatly from the globalization of the economy in the last 30 years.

Half the world does not know the joys of wearing cotton underwear.

Government is not the generator of economic growth; working people are.

It's not fair to say that people who work with their head or with their hands ought to pay taxes, but people who earn their living with capital ought not to.

Quite frankly, I think nothing could do more to immediately bolster national security then enabling us to produce more oil and gas here at home at a price consumers could afford.

I have the most reliable friend you can have in American politics, and that is ready money.

I'd rather go to the dentist... but I'm going.

I'm carrying so much pork, I'm beginning to get trichinosis.

It is clear to me that Democrats want to attack me rather than debate Sen. McCain on important economic issues facing the country. That kind of distraction hurts not only Sen. McCain's ability to present concrete programs to deal with the country's problems; it hurts the country.

I said we are in a mental recession. We keep getting the steady drumbeat of bad news... it's become a mental recession. We don't have measured negative growth. That's a fact, that's not a commentary.

I have to tell you that the innovation and the technology and the entrepreneurship of the world still lies in the United States of America.

The cap-and-trade plan is more market driven than anything else. If you want to discourage carbon use, you have to make it more expensive, but what is crucial is that this be a worldwide program that includes China and India.

Every technological advance we've made in the 21st century and throughout the 20th has come from the United States of America.

I believe I am more conservative than Bob Dole; I believe I am more committed to fundamentally changing American government than Bob Dole.

The American story is a story of immigration. I would be the last person who would say immigrants are not important to America.

The Democrats want government to do the spending. Senator McCain wants families to do the spending.

The genius of the American system is that through freedom we have created extraordinary results from plain old ordinary people

There are a lot of things you can say about the Bush tax cuts, but you can't say they didn't work.

Very few pundits are applauding, ... I just want to say I am one person who's applauding, and I will never ever forget what you've done. It may not be in an editorial, but it's sure as hell enshrined in my heart.

We face some very high hurdles, and negotiations will require a tremendous effort,

The fact that I may not vote for conviction doesn't matter, as long as there is justice,

We're here in a debate with a vote coming that one wanted, but here it is,

When this is over, the important thing will be whether we can say that we rendered impartial justice.

Shifting the burden of proof will change the way the IRS does business,

Mr. Chairman, please don't try to fix an economy that isn't broken, ... Don't become so frightened by success that you throw wet blankets on a fire that isn't burning.

No other issue has created as much concern in this bill as the issue of whether employers can be sued as a result of a dispute that arises out of the liability sections of this bill,

People want to be on both sides of the issue. They want to say the president's not guilty, (and) they want to say the president's guilty, ... Meet The Press.

If we're going to vote on extraneous amendments that our Democrat colleagues want to vote on, then I want to vote on amendments that I think will benefit the country,

I don't think it's a 'gimme' that this appointment will move forward quickly, but everything that I know about Larry Summers is good,

If the best they can do in telling us what is right with them and what is wrong with us is that they want higher taxes and they want every state in the Union how to run health care, they are going to be in the minority for a very, very long time,

He was the kind of man your mama wanted you to grow up to be and, until you met Paul Coverdell, you did not know that was possible,

He has reminded me in this debate of an ancient god Aeneas whose mother was the Earth, and every time he was thrown to the ground he got up stronger than he had been when he was cast to the ground,

The people who are dragging American bodies (through Somalia) don't look very hungry to the people of Texas

I think in the end, we'll have a trial, ... We will render a verdict, as the Senate has on 15 other occasions, in those 15 cases where there was an impeachment in the House and where the person impeached did not resign first.

The accused should be tried and rendered a verdict, ... It is our constitutional duty to see this through, as tiring and trying as this may be. The constitutional process is at stake.

That's up to Sen. Gramm to analyze and come to some conclusion about.

The point that we're making is, if we're trying to raise the price of cigarettes to discourage smoking cigarettes that's one thing, but if we're raising taxes for tens of billions of dollars for spending, then why not give part of it back?

When they are through with the program they go back to Mexico, and they will take the skills they have acquired, they will take the money they have saved and it will give them the ability to help build the Mexican economy,

The debate here is not between reducing the debt and cutting taxes, ... The debate is between taxpayers spending money and Washington spending money.

We want to be sure that a new president with a new agenda has an opportunity to get it voted on,

While people thought we might settle the issue today, in the end this issue was going to end up in Washington across the street in the Supreme Court and I think that's where it will end next week,

There have been 15 impeachments, there have been 15 trials and there have been 15 verdicts rendered by the Senate ... I think in the end we are going to follow the Constitution,

The good news is that Congress has repealed the death tax, the bad news is the president says he's going to veto it, ... But the good news is Bill Clinton is not going to be president next year.

Tonight we have laid the foundation to make history,

With friendship or support, it's not something that you buy,

We are going to have millions of Americans lose their health insurance,

Each member is going to answer for where they were when Medicare went broke,

The world changes, and Congress and the laws have to change with it,

I want a program to get us started,

Quite frankly, I'd rather go to the dentist. But I intend to go,

The way out is to vote 'guilty' or 'not guilty' and live with it,

This bill was intended to keep America on top of the high-tech industry,

It says 'In God We Trust' on our coins, but it isn't that way in our hearts,

It's sort of like the difference between love and prostitution, ... You don't pay people to like you.

The bill must benefit consumers by making the broadest array of financial services available at the lowest possible price, ... If it doesn't do that, then it's not worth having.

The Congress tends to guard its powers very jealously, now more so than ever. There's nothing wrong with the president educating the public about the line-item veto. But any president has really got to be prepared to use the veto power he already has.

I'm quite confident the gentleman from Illinois will get his chance to vote on Governor Bush's tax cut next year,

I didn't expect anybody on the House side to get out in front,

If I bought groceries the way I buy health insurance, I'd eat a lot better - and so would my dog

I believe 20 years from now when people look back at the Clinton era that the vote on normal trade relations with China will be one of the most historic votes cast in this -- during the eight years of the Clinton Administration,

The Cold War is over. We have a surplus. Shouldn't we give some of this money back to working families? ... I say yes; the president says no.

The conference report before us, I'm unhappy to say, makes a mockery out of the budget, ... In fact, if we adopt this conference report, I think that there is no need we should ever adopt another budget.

I don't accept defeat as final. Only death is final - and even then I hope for a reprieve.

I did not come to Washington to be loved, and I have not been disappointed.

We're the only nation in the world where most of our poor people are fat.

Sophia Loren is not a citizen.

All over the world, people want to know what kind of people Texans are, and I explain that Texans are America's ideal Americans.

I would be the last person who would say immigrants are not important to America.

I think in the end we will have negotiations with the House. They don't have any incentive for a long, drawn-out trial. We'll have negotiations with the White House. Despite all their threats they are going to have a prolonged defense. The reality is they are the driving force behind getting this over quickly.

You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline

You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession.

The reality is (Clinton's) so-called tax cut is basically giving money to people who largely don't pay taxes, so that it's really spending rather than a tax cut, ... This Week.

If I brought groceries the way I buy health insurance, I'd eat a lot better - and so would my dog.

I own more shotguns than I need. But less shotguns than I want.

Granting amnesty to people who broke the law penalizes the millions of people who are waiting to come to America legally.

The genius of the American system is that we have created extraordinary results from plain old ordinary people.

...we will not grant amnesty to illegal aliens in this Congress or, hopefully ever again. We did that once. Everybody said it was a one time deal. We were to never do it again. The problem with doing it was we reward people who violated the law. We reward people who came into the country illegally.

Balancing the budget is like going to heaven. Everybody wants to do it, but nobody wants to do what you have to do to get there.

Running for president must be like having babies. You have to forget what it was like the last time before you want to do it again.

Half the world does not know the joy of wearing cotton underwear.

Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day.

I look at subprime lending and I see the American dream in action.

We're going to keep building the party until we're hunting Democrats with dogs.

I love Texas because Texas is future-oriented, because Texans think anything is possible. Texans think big