Darrell Issa Quotes

The debate on how to shrink the federal government is at the core of our problem of government not doing its job.

While I can see how the government has, at times, wasted taxpayers' money, and I can admit that too often its programs are ineffective, I also can see the good that government does.

I was elected to come to an incredibly dysfunctional capital and make the government work better, and that's what I'm doing.

Liberals often don't see the problems, and conservatives don't see the promise, of government.

We should distinguish carefully skepticism about Big Government from contempt for all government.

While we may argue about the size of government, the Republican Party has not been a party that says, 'I want to destroy government.'

I believe that smaller government is better government. But I also believe that in the areas where government does play a legitimate role, we should demand that it is done better.

The reform of government needs to continue.

We can't do without government, but we do need it to be more effective.

I ran for president in order to be able to try to change Washington D.C. from the inside. Our federal government is broken.

The issue isn't more or less government. It's dumb vs. smart government.

The question today is not whether the government is too small or too small, but whether or not it works

The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop.

The Watergate reforms did work well for many years, and if improved and broadened, these reforms can have real and major impact on the system today.

Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians.

Ever since I arrived in Washington in April 2009, I have been fighting for more transparency and accountability in government.

It's the No.1 issue with people I talk to, whether Republican, Democrat or independent. They want to see the way business is done in Washington change.

What is true is that if we do not change the culture of Washington, D.C., the United States of America will cease.

We need a Federal government that does what the government needs to do and stops doing what the government ought not to be doing.

I have my strong views and opinions. I really want to transform Illinois government because this state is failing the taxpayers and the children.

My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.

Most Americans recognize that whatever the government program is, no matter how essential it is, it's waste.

I saw what government programs were and how they were executed. In some cases, they were executed beautifully, but in others, there was tremendous waste.

My task as a citizen is to get the government to do more good and less inefficient and wasteful work.

Now, a lot of people have given up on government. And if you're one of those people, I would ask that you reconsider, because things are changing. Politics is not changing; government is changing.