Tommy Thompson Quotes
Congress doesn’t act unless there is an emergency.
Thomas George Thompson, Governor of Wisconsin (Republican), Secretary of Health and Human Resources, C-SPAN, Debate on Health Care, National Constitution Center, July 5, 2008
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
His admonition did little good. That Congress passed fewer bills than any other in history.
This observation tends to be true with groups of people with responsibility as in a legislature like Congress.
The Congress had been told that our policy was to seek a negotiated settlement in the civil war in Chad and not to send weapons or supplies that could aid either side, especially Habre who was known for his atrocities and human rights violations. The military people like Blakemore responsible for the logistics of transporting and transferring military supplies wanted to check with the Foreign Relations Committee before sending the supplies. This quotation shows that even before the Iran-Contra scandal where Oliver North broke the law overtly, he had little respect for the law and the authority of Congress.
Tommy George Thompson is an American Republican politician and the current President of the University of Wisconsin System, serving on an interim basis since July 1, 2020. He previously served as the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin and was the 19th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, in the cabinet of U.S. President George W. Bush.
