Bill Haslam Quotes

I would like to add some legislative history at the end of my remarks.

But we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.

I have never seen the author of a reform bill who was able to predict accurately what would really happen when the bill was passed.

Legislators, influenced by the passions and exigencies of the moment, the pressure of constituents and colleagues, and the press of business, do not always pass sober constitutional judgments on every piece of legislation they enact.

For all laws are general judgments, or sentences of the legislator; as also every particular judgment is a law to him whose case is judged.

Parliament is a potent engine, and its enactments must always do something, but they very seldom do what the originators of these enactments meant.

We focused attention on what some believe are the flaws in the process leading to Senate consideration of the bill and the flaws of the bill itself.

A massive immigration bill has no chance of becoming law.

The senators are clearly willing to incur your wrath at reelection time. They would much rather do that than deal with whatever is gonna happen to them if they vote to repeal Obamacare. They're afraid of somebody. They are concerned about somebody or something, but it isn't you. Despite the most important thing in their lives, being reelected, that's what you do.

Persuade your fellow citizens it's a good idea and pass a law. That's what democracy is all about. It's not about nine superannuated judges who have been there too long, imposing these demands on society.

Famous crime stories almost always lead to the passing of new laws. There's a great many intersections between this unseemly tabloid phenomena and serious social issues and we never get to that intersection because serious people don't like to talk about that unattractive stuff.

You ought to teach kids that elections take place but that's not politics. If you want to know how legislation is made it doesn't come from elections.

American people aren't interested in the procedural analysis. What they want is an up and down vote. They deserve an up and down vote on health care.

In the United States especially, politics and economics don’t mix well. Politicians have all sorts of reasons to pass all sorts of laws that, as well-meaning as they may be, fail to account for the way real people respond to real-world incentives.

That may not be a majority position in my party, but that's down the road. You can't even begin that process until you prove to people - not just pass a law that says you're gonna bring illegal immigration under control. You're gonna have to do it and prove to people that it's working.

I had to make these decisions after 9/11, make a decision about how to proceed forward with an investigation or how to pull back, whether you use certain actionable intelligence or whether not to. And yet they continue to debate about this bill and in the subcommittee and what - nobody in America cares about that.

Look what the American people did with the comprehensive immigration bill. That was all lined up to get past and the American people spoke and then many members of Congress who were in favor of it changed their mind.

Congress and the White House are working out their scheme for pushing through a healthcare 'reform' bill that has more pages than the U.S. Constitution has words. I guarantee you that not a single member of the House or Senate has a complete understanding of that legislation any more than they understood all the implications of the USA PATRIOT Act back in 2001.

If zero percent of the elites support something, very low chance it's going to pass, if 100% support something, very high chance it's going to pass. Same thing for organized interest groups. But for the average voter, it's a flat line. Which says it doesn't matter whether zero percent of the public believes something or 100% of the average voters believe something - it doesn't affect the probability that that thing will be enacted.

With the greatest respect, we do not make the criminal law on the basis of opinion polls. A majority of 9:1 could be in favour of a ban in my constituency, but I would not regard that as conclusive, and I hope that we never would. If we start having opinion polls about all the unpleasant and distasteful habits and customs of some members of society, and suggesting that their findings should be made part of the criminal law, foxhunting would come way down the list, and quite a lot of strange enactments would have to go through the House.

On the strength of strong public support, I will have (the postal reform bills) passed within this session.

There's a big gap between public opinion polls and the vote in Washington, in Congress. The majority consciousness has changed, and often that has made very clear, practical changes in our daily lives, but the centers of power are still not occupied, for the most part, by this new consciousness.

There are loopholes big enough to drive trucks through. And Congress needs to take a look at those laws and make sure that they're much more rigorous.

We're going to get this bill to remake the health care system passed through the Senate. I feel so confident. As much as we've come up with a really incredible health care plan, this has brought Republican Party together.

So I think there's going to be a constituent backlash against this thing soon, as they see it moving in that direction...Whether they can pass something before the American public wakes up, I don't know.