Sheila Jackson Lee Quotes

Federal bureaucracies are creatures of Congress, not the executive.

It is up to Congress to see to it that its powers do not slip through its fingers

I respect the Congress's oversight responsibility.

It's hardly a radical idea to suggest that regulators and legislators understand the law now, is it?

I believe that successfully addressing our national security needs while protecting our basic freedoms and civil liberties requires continual Congressional oversight, and I will continue to work to assert the role of this body in carrying out this grave responsibility.

I generally leave the details of fiscal programs to the Administration and Congress. That's really their area of authority and responsibility, and I don't think it's appropriate for me to second guess.

Many people who try to do big bold things in the world find out it's not about the money or the technology: It's about the regulatory hurdles that will try and stop you.

I tell them the rules are made by the government. Every firm should comply. It doesn't mean they can't compete.

The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is the role of Congress to debate and authorize this before the President acts precipitously.

As a member of Congress, I believe Congress must provide oversight of actions by the Executive Branch as our system of checks and balances requires.

We were having problems with the War Powers Act, so I hesitate to use the term war.

Congress ... is far more than the simple, limited advisory council that most Presidents would like to maintain.

Congress has chosen to recognize that a president may be forced to pursue legitimate foreign policy objectives by covert means. Such recognition, however, does not mean it surrenders the right to be informed of covert measures so that it can express its views as to the legitimacy of the goals or the wisdom of seeking to achieve them.

Congress has a constitutional right to an authoritative voice in declaring and proscribing the foreign policy of the United States ... and it is the constitutional duty of the President to respect that policy ...

Bureaucrats, dunderheads and knaves have always denounced congressional oversight.

Congress has a lot of powers which people, especially those in the executive branch, don't like to talk about.

I question the Constitutional authority of the President to conscript unwilling Americans and send them abroad without a declaration of war by the Congress.

It is not the Congress's job to rubber stamp bad decisions [of the President.]

The line has not been exactly drawn which separates those important subjects, which must be entirely regulated by the legislature itself, from those of less interest, in which … power may be given to those who are to act under such general provisions to fill up the details.

The Constitution provided an invitation to the President and Congress to struggle for the privilege of directing American foreign policy.

We have not found a way to give Congress control without depriving the President of essential power.

Congress shall not have power, without the concurrence of two-thirds of both Houses, to interdict the commercial intercourse between the United States and any foreign nation or the dependencies thereof.

Every business action of the individual is supervised and hedged about with red tape and paternal restrictions.

We [the Supreme Court] may say that power to legislate for emergencies belongs in the hands of Congress, but only Congress itself can prevent power from slipping through its fingers.

Congress has really serious oversight powers over Intelligence Agencies that they have not exercised in recent years.