Top 65 Quotes & Sayings by Pete Gallego

The policy of the future cannot forever be determined by the politics of the past - or even the present.

Obama's very unpopular. I don't need a poll to tell me that.

Because fossil fuels are not only a finite resource but hazardous to the environment, it is imperative that we diversify the resources used in generating electricity.

Our challenge is to stop people from driving drunk. Punishing them afterwards doesn't bring back the victim or make the family feel better. The idea is to stop the DWI before it happens.

HB 2 leaves 90% of the children behind. The disconnect between this bill and the basic needs of Texas schoolchildren is appalling.

How do you defend inaction in the face of crisis? How is that defensible for anybody?

When Congress puts party labels aside, like we did on VA reform, we can accomplish some great things for the American people. But those occasions were far too rare.

In Mexico, they don't have birth certificates... They don't have registration cards for voters. They have one national ID. We don't have a national ID.

I think 'immigration' is a bad word for many Republicans.

A robust democracy requires active participation.

I was impressed by the capability and talent and intellect of our troops on the ground. These kids are really impressive.

I saw how hard my parents worked, and I didn't want to be a freeloader.

We must work for a solution to address the senseless cuts that hurt our border, our economy, and our country.

In the old way of doing business, it was fine to disagree and then go to dinner. Now it's personal and more partisan, and a disagreement on one issue leads to a disagreement on another issue.

We have a two-party system that I think can work well if people make an effort.

Our voting records are not necessarily the same, but, you know, we're all Texans, and at the end of the day, we try to help each other out.

Sequestration will make it extremely challenging - and in many cases impossible - for employees to meet their mortgage payments, pay their healthcare expenses, plan for retirement, or help their children attend college. To be blunt, these families are at risk.

Congress is more broken than ever. Congressman Will Hurd has quickly become part of the problem.

My family never took vacations; we never traveled together. We never did anything. My spring breaks were going home to help my dad at the restaurant.

I didn't come to Washington to be part of the problem.

Here's the thing about Texas - and the thing about the border. We all know undocumented immigrants. They sit in our churches, are friends with our children, and work all around us. They are just like us.

I'm confident in my strengths. I'm prepared to jump any hurdle.

Frankly, no issue is worth shutting down the government and denying pay to those committed to public service.

PACs don't vote in the district; people do.

If you want to come fight the good fight to make a difference for people and to try to get the government back on track, where we govern from the middle and not from the extremes, then understand that it's a lonely road, and you're going to have a hard time.

I learned long ago you run unopposed, or you run scared.

My grandmother was not a U.S. citizen. Growing up along the border, you see the real human side of immigration - not the picture often drawn by politicians far removed from the border.

The fact that I am Latino is not a secret. There's not much I can do about that. It is what it is. I think people know that my last name ends in a vowel. What can I tell you?

I think it becomes incumbent upon a candidate to essentially disavow some of the things that are in that party platform. Otherwise, I think the assumption is that you are a true believer.

It's tremendously undemocratic in a democratic society when you deliberately disenfranchise thousands of people.

The irony is that kids are treated equally when it comes to tests and standards and expectations but not treated equally when providing funds to meet those standards and expectations.

We've made our living for a long time on commerce and trade at the border.

No one will steal my son's American Dream.

It's always bothersome when California does something better than Texas.

If immigration reform doesn't happen, that doesn't say good things about our democracy, that everybody wants it, but Congress couldn't pass it.

I don't have the luxury of just hanging out in my primary and, once I win the primary, I'm fine. I have to talk to Democrats and Republicans.

The men and women at our borders, given adequate resources, are doing an excellent job of keeping us safe.

Around here, manana seems to be the busiest day of the week. We never seem to get there.

I think the post-Rick-Perry Texas is a Texas that is more competitive between the Democrats and Republicans. I think the Republicans still have a huge advantage, but I think if we're arguing that competition is good for the system, then I think a stronger two-party system in Texas is inevitable, and I think that it will happen.

When the law says you're entitled to an attorney, it doesn't mean you're entitled to an attorney who sleeps or an attorney who doesn't do his job.

I like having a battleground district because I think that's real-life America.

Turnout is good for the system.

In the district I represent, I have to talk to everybody.

A lawmaker cannot be pro-sequester while also purporting to be pro-national security or supportive of a strong economy.

There's no such thing as anybody who can't be beat; everybody can be beat. It's a question of how hard you're willing to work. It's a question of the environment, the surroundings. Frankly, there's a lot of issues with timing.

The luxury for me is that I've spent already several millions of dollars across the district getting people to know who I am... So, my name ID is really, really high.

California - with more cars, more drivers and more people - still has less DWI-related deaths than Texas does.

I have never been in favor of gay marriage, and I am not in favor of gay marriage.

As an incumbent, if you are winning, your commercials are about motherhood and apple pie and the flag.

It was in the best interests of Zavala and other counties that we move forward with a farm bill and provide certainty to ranchers, farmers, food banks, and other providers.

We all want our border to be secure. However, certain individuals use this argument to stop us from ever enacting immigration reform.

It's important we understand our system seeks justice and not revenge.

This is pool. This is setting up your next shot, and I always want to make sure when we're setting up San Antonio's next shot we have a good shot at making sure that we continue to build our infrastructure in such a way that San Antonio will be a player for years to come in national defense issues.

There's this fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party, and until that fight gets settled - because they're the majority - there's a lot of things that are pretty much on hold.

It takes a certain personality to thrive as a member of the House.

As the polarization in D.C. spreads, the people willing to come to the middle find less and less acceptance.

Every decision I make in Congress will be centered on the needs of the district.

People don't have the opportunity to be larger than life anymore - they're afraid of seeing it on the Internet.

I told the president 'no' to special treatment for Congress when he tried to exempt them from Obamacare.

It's just so unfortunate that, as we get adjusted to this global economy, that the U.S. is even thinking about building walls.