Michael Bennet Quotes

Reform is not for the short-winded. I'm committed to making sure the Senate is more than just a graveyard for good ideas.

I think, from the broad political spectrum, not just the Freedom Caucus, I think there is a need for internal reform that is how we bring bills up, getting back to regular order, how we offer amendments or don't offer amendments.

The only way to improve the GOP brand and make good public policy is to fix the process. This requires transforming the way Congress does business.

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.

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.

Someday a political genius will come along and make the Senate work.

The best thing for the American public is that we do our job. That Washington changes. That the Senate and the House get together and fix their differences and find common ground.

President Barack Obama has it right - there is a lot to change about Washington. The problem is, not much will get changed unless we confront the runaway filibuster in the U.S. Senate.

While we face economic obstacles that challenge every decision made in Washington, decisions made merely for political gain must stop. It's time to restore civility in Congress. It's time for action where action is needed - all politics aside.

Let the filibuster be no more. Let the people decide.

Hoosiers sent me to Washington to help President Trump drain the swamp, and it starts with cutting out generous taxpayer-funded perks that keep career politicians in D.C.

Of course, the genesis of a good portion of the gridlock in Congress does not reside in Congress itself. Ultimate reform will require each of us, as voters and Americans, to take a long look in the mirror, because in many ways, our representatives in Washington reflect the people who have sent them there.

Like you, I'm fed up with business as usual in Washington. Send me to Congress, and I won't tweak our broken system. I'll shut it down.

It's time to bring tough medicine to Washington. No longer will policy be set by K Street, it will be dictated by Main Street.

Since I joined Congress, I've been shocked at how many times we were forced to vote on 1,000-plus-page bills without ample time to read or review what was in the final legislation. It's no wonder Congress doesn't enact good policy.

The people of Florida's 2nd Congressional District said, 'Steve, go up there and fight to change the culture in Washington.' I've taken their instructions very seriously.

Some day, the public might actually revolt against the undemocratic system of seniority that allows Congress to keep the old ways of Washington ingrained into the culture of Congress.

Let's clean up the Senate and return to politics of common ground.

I think there's bipartisan support in the Senate to pass a good reform bill.

Montanans elected me to the Senate to do away with shady backroom deals and to make government work better.

We need new energy back in Washington.

Are we going to just change the personalities in the speakership? Or are we going to fundamentally transform the way we do business here in Washington, D.C.?

I was Speaker of the House in Florida, first Republican speaker in 120 years. And I totally dismantled the way this House worked and turned it around to what I believe is right.

With Barack Obama as president and the super-happening Michelle Obama as First Lady, you would think a new tone, a new tune, a kicky new jazzitude, would have entered Washington discourse, but it remains a landlocked island unto itself, held captive by its tribal fevers.

The Senate must stop doing so much of its business in secret, behind closed doors…. A bill that affects the nation’s security has been held up for months by a secret hold and cannot see the light of day…. There is no accountability…. The person who exercises a hold ought to be identified…. Secret holds have been the bane of the United States Senate for decades. So much for sunshine in the United States Senate.