Rohini Nilekani Quotes

It takes time for 700,000 people to get to know their congressman.

I always try to keep my constituents as up-to-date as possible with what's going on here in Washington.

Representative government demands an ongoing conversation between legislators and constituents.

It is the duty of parliament to look at the men as well as the measures.

People should hold elected officials accountable for how they vote. Period.

As taxpayers, we pay our elected officials to serve the people and protect our state and our interests.

All I wanted was to be involved in politics and government.

Saying 'no' to very bad legislation is not wrong. In fact, when the American people tell you that they don't want the health care bill, you've got a responsibility to say no.

The traditional role of the Senate has been to be the adult in the room.

Between floor votes, hearings and meetings, a typical week in Washington is about 70 hours. And back in the district, it's about 60 hours, a lot of which is spent with constituents.

My goal is to reach out to communicate every day, whether I'm in Washington or in the congressional district. In Washington, the best opportunity to do that is on the House floor. It's both a responsibility and an opportunity. I enjoy, every day, taking to the House floor to address an issue or event that is significant for constituents.

As a legislator, I saw how effective I could be by being transparent, posting and explaining all of my votes.

And, as you recall, last year, people were asking us, don't vote on the bill until you read every part of the bill. So, as a good attorney and as a good legislator, I think it's my responsibility to read the amendments.

The legislature's job is to write law. It's the executive branch's job to interpret law.

I probably hold more town halls than any member of Congress.

My view is the questions in Parliament should be the questions that people out there want asked.

I want to be an advocate for the people who don't have time to read the newspaper... or the money to make a political contribution.

The accountability of state legislators is so much more than federal legislators.

When the President of the United States breaks the law he must be held accountable. That is why I am introducing today a resolution to censure George W. Bush…. At the very heart of our constitution is the assumption that some members of the government will do wrong, and when they do, others in the government must do right…. The President has broken the law. Congress must act…. Our job is not to stand up and cheer when the President breaks the law.

We have to have campaign contributions to apprise the public about our qualifications.

The respect of the American people for the Congress has been increased. They can see the Congress as a vigilant Congress.

An investigation in which the processes of law-making and law-evaluating are submerged entirely in exposure of individual behavior—in adjudication, of a sort, through the exposure process—is outside the constitutional pale of congressional inquiry.

The idea that every subcommittee of Congress gets to question the [cabinet] Secretaries as often as they want to is an extraordinary waste of time.

Being a member of Congress is a hard job but it's an uplifting job.

Parliament is a grand inquest which has the right to inquire into anything and everything.