Michele Bachmann Quotes

I'm not a professional politician. I'm a professional problem solver, and I believe we should cut the salaries of senators and congressmen 10 percent until they balance the budget. I call that conservative common sense.

Earmarks have become a symbol of a Congress that has broken faith with the people. This earmark ban shows the American people we are listening and we are dead serious about ending business as usual in Washington.

If everyone in America can easily see who and what their lawmakers are requesting taxpayer money for, we can keep elected officials honest, end the days of political, special interest favors, and reduce wasteful spending.

The message is pretty clear: Americans are sick and tired of the doubletalk coming out of Washington, of us going home and saying we're conservative and then coming up here and voting for 10,000 earmarks. We can't fool America anymore; the media is too good. They're reporting what we're really doing.

Those members of Congress who want to bring back pork to their districts should stand up proudly and be counted.

You can't have it both ways. You can't tell me that you're taxed enough already, and that you want constitutional government and then in the next breath say, 'Bring me home some bacon.' The pig has been picked clean.

Let me say this, to all of the chattering class that so much focuses on those little tiny, yes, porky amendments - the American people really don't care.

The first pork-barrel bill that crosses my desk, I'm going to veto it and make the authors of those pork-barrel items famous all over America.

I have never been opposed to earmarks.

Now, so, if you want to blame someone for wasteful spending, the Republicans are in the majority.

Spending is not caring. Spending is what politicians do instead of caring. Spending more does not guarantee success. Politicians like to measure spending because it is easier than measuring actual metrics of accomplishment.

So, the point I'm making is, we are not going to cut spending in Washington if we think it's the job of every congressman and senator is to pave local parking lots and build local sewer plants. These parochial interests are getting in the way of the national interests.

Politicians like to confuse congressional spending with earmarks. There is a difference.

There's no doubt about it, earmarks are not very popular. There are good earmarks and bad earmarks. The good earmarks are the ones I get for my district.

All I want to do is get back to a principle-based Congress.

The Pig Book

When it comes to listening to my constituents or to the governor's staff, who are more interested in their pet projects and their government cars, I'll vote for my constituents every time.

Local groups demand that their representatives and senators bring home the "bacon" or else .... They want economy practiced on the other fellow but not on themselves.

[On congressional reform:] If you purify the pond, the water lilies die.

Tell Congress to go home and make an honest living instead of riding on the backs of the taxpayers.

We have a Congress to serve the people who provide the money.

I know why elected officials want to spend money. It’s great. I can get a vote from you if I give you some money. OK but that doesn’t help your children. It just helps you.

I don't disagree with Senator McCain when he talks about the earmark process.

The Office of Congressional Ethics was created to provide more transparency in the House of Representatives. It was a commendable goal.

When I came to Congress, I campaigned for fiscal responsibility. And the earmarking problem and crisis caused a great erosion in the public's confidence in Congress. We've got to find a way to do it without that. And I'm confident that we can.