Top 113 Quotes & Sayings by Tammy Duckworth

I absolutely welcome a full investigation into the for-profit schools because I think a majority of them are predatory.

At my core, I know that the American Dream is about the opportunity to work hard to make your future.

The ADA is the living testament to our Nation's commitment that we will always stand up for our neighbors' right to live fulfilling lives.

My arm bones looked like chicken bones.

I have personally seen what a devastating medical condition can cost.

The ADA allows persons with disabilities the opportunity to participate in the world around them.

My therapist would be so happy to know I'm doing all this walking. They've done a great job of putting me back together, haven't they?

I know from personal experience that engaging with your community and helping others helps foster a sense of shared sacrifice and - at a time when our politics seem more focused on tearing us apart than bringing us together - that shared sacrifice will help us rekindle the national unity that has made us the strongest nation in the world.

When you're a member of Congress, you can become an expert in a couple of subjects. For example, I've worked on federal procurement reform, the Armed Services Committee, manufacturing, and women's health care.

I'd do anything to help veterans.

If I still had my legs, I would be in line for a battalion command, and instead, I'm flying a desk.

I actually lost both my legs. I can walk because I got really good health care.

The bottom line is, when you're in the Senate, you have more of a voice in the beginning than a new House member.

I admire Governor Blagojevich's unbending commitment to giving every person in Illinois access to health care.

In the Senate, you can become one of the nation's leading voices on the issues.

I was born in Bangkok in 1968 and grew up in Southeast Asia with my Thai mom and my American father, who first came to the region to fight in Vietnam and stayed to work assisting refugees.

One of the good things about losing your feet is I can wear all the pointy shoes I want, and it doesn't hurt anymore. I can wear shoes just for fashion now.

If you come from a military culture, and you go into see the general or the commander, and he talks to you very calmly and says, 'I'm very disappointed in you,' that's devastating.

I did not know I was a Midwesterner until I got there. I just fell in love with the people.

I'm going to find solutions wherever I can. I think it's all a priority. You can't just say, 'OK, I'm going to work on this but not that.' You have to work on all of it.

I don't know why I survived Iraq and I don't know why I made it home, but I do know that this is my second chance at life and I can do whatever I want now.

Southeast Asia was home for much of my childhood, but I moved to Hawaii when I was in high school.

We must be an inclusive nation that respects and supports all of its citizens: a nation that doesn't give up on anyone who hasn't given up on themselves.

Veterans are my life's work. From the day my buddies saved my life in Iraq, I've woken up every single day dedicated to taking care of veterans and doing my best for veterans.

When I first ran, being a woman in politics was seen as both a negative and also a positive. You could attract more women voters, but on the other hand, a lot of men wouldn't vote for you.

Sometimes it takes dealing with a disability - the trauma, the relearning, the months of rehabilitation therapy - to uncover our true abilities and how we can put them to work for us in ways we may have never imagined.

My strength is in finding ways to make the government work for the people: finding waste, or money that is not being properly used... or finding opportunities that are out there and making them work for the community.

Had I been injured on the freeway and not in combat, it is likely that I would be bankrupt even though I had medical insurance through my civilian employer.

The contributions of African Americans, Native Americans, and immigrants throughout our nation's history are undeniable, but the tendency to overlook their gallant efforts is pervasive and persistent.

I said three things when I woke up in Walter Reed. 'I love you.' 'Put me to work,' and 'You stink! Go shower!'

The lessons I learned as an officer, the challenges I've faced, and the camaraderie I've experienced are at the core of who I am.

I shouldn't even be here, so if I'm here, I better do something good.

I always wanted to be an ambassador.

I consider myself lucky to have been born into a family that valued service to both one's country and one's community.

I actually shoot. I enjoy target practice. I find it really zen. You focus on nothing but the target. You have to control your breathing. It's all part of my years in the military, where I was taught to become a marksman but also to respect my weapon.

The summer before I started college, my parents walked everywhere instead of taking the bus. Once a week, they would hand over $10 to the university housing office, a deposit so I could move into the dorms in the fall.

I do not have PTSD, but if I watch part of a movie like 'The Hurt Locker,' or when I spend time around Blackhawk helicopters, I will close my eyes that night and live an entire day in Iraq, flying my missions. I remember the smell and the feel and the heat and everything about it. Then I wake up in Illinois, and I'm exhausted.

Men view life to be as precious as women do, and to say that men have a more violent nature is insulting to men.

I think back to the 1990s, when I joined the Army, and all those peacetime years that we had, thinking, 'Will we ever go into combat?'

Running for Senate is a very involved process.

Barack Obama will never ignore our troops.

My first direct encounter with the military was when I joined ROTC as a graduate student, although my father, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, can trace the military service in our family all the way back to the Revolutionary War.

I remember my mother taking me as a very little kid to the roof of our home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to look at the bombs exploding in the distance. She didn't want us to be scared by the booms and the strange flashes of light. It was her way of helping us to understand what was happening.

Female service members are so integrated into the military, so critical and vital to all functions of the military, from combat service support to combat support, to direct combat, that we could not go to war as a nation - we could not defend America - without our women.

The women putting their lives at risk for our country deserve better than to be treated as second-class citizens.

Nobody wants to be on food stamps, but when my family lost everything, we were grateful for it. I was grateful the program was there so I could concentrate on my schoolwork and not on my empty belly. We were grateful that we had the support we needed to roll up our sleeves and rebuild our lives.

It was the combination of hard work and a hand up that allowed me to become one of the first women to fly in combat missions and achieve my American Dream.

I was in Congress for six months, and they put me on blood pressure medication. I flew helicopters in combat and I was fine, and I survived 13 months in recovery in the hospital... I got to Congress, and six months later I'm on blood pressure medication. Fourteen months later, they doubled the dosage!

I had 12 years in the Army before I ever faced combat.

I don't ever want to be sad about my life.

Our soldiers show every single day that they are more than good enough.

I feel like moderate Republicans, who would support sensible gun violence legislation, are pushed aside by those folks who are absolutely beholden to the NRA.

My experience in Iraq made me realize, and during the recovery, that I could have died. And I just had to do more with my life.

Student loans, Social Security, and Medicare make a difference in the lives of working families every day, and the conversation that should be taking place is how we can save these programs, not weaken them.

You fly. You aviate. You do everything you can to get the aircraft safely on the ground.

The American Dream I believe in is one that provides anyone willing to work hard enough with the opportunity to succeed.

The ADA is essential in helping me overcome the obstacles I face as a Wounded Warrior and empowers me to assist other veterans. It allows me to be physically active, have my pilot's license, and serve in Congress.

When I got to Iraq, my world focused in on one mission. It was incredibly rewarding.

I spent a lot of time between bars like this.

How can you have an educated workforce, how do you equal the economic disparities in this country, if you can't make college more affordable for those who are struggling to make it?