For years, members of Congress have heard from constituents who want them to protect the nation from crime, terrorism and intellectual property violation. They have not faced equally robust demands that online rights and freedoms be preserved.
If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner.
It's not about what the speaker wants. It's not about necessarily what I want. There's two other principles involved here. It's what the constituents in my district want, and they didn't want to raise the debt ceiling unless there were significant structural reforms and spending cuts to help us balance our budget.
People have tremendous power, more than the average person understands, and certainly more than even I understood before I came to Congress. When any of my constituents writes me a letter, I promise you, we're listening.
A lot of the Republicans wanted exactly what Barack Obama wanted, exactly what Nancy Pelosi wanted, exactly what Harry Reid wanted, which is to raise the debt ceiling, but they wanted to be able to tell what they view as their foolish, gullible constituents back home they didn't do it.
We are united around a simple goal, and that is keeping the government open while protecting our constituents from the harmful effects of Obamacare.
When we do our legislation, we're not trying to figure out, 'How can I use this to run against you?' We say, 'How can we pass this bill to help both of our constituents?'
Like the vast majority of my constituents, I continue to be concerned about record profits reported by petroleum companies at a time when consumers are paying record high prices for gasoline.
Surely there are common-sense reforms that we should, and must, take in order to keep our children and our communities safe. I take these recommendations very seriously, and will listen to the voices of my constituents to ensure I do everything I can to help prevent gun violence.
The constituents of tragedy may be universally acknowledged, easily invoked and deeply felt, but the elements of comedy are, I think, more widely variable from person to person.
I do not wish harm on our constituents.
It's very unfortunate to see the amount of obstruction the Democrats have put forward. There has not been a point since the beginning of President Trump's term that they have said, 'Let's come to the table. Let's work with you.' Even when they see their own constituents suffering because of their failing healthcare.
I cannot ignore the will of my constituents by supporting a bill that allows President Obama's executive amnesty plan to continue unchecked.
I think it's fair to say that there's a lot of conversations between House members and Senate members on a regular basis, and I think that's what our constituents would expect, is to have bicameral conversations throughout the process.
Our objectives are clear. Let's keep the government open and protect our constituents.
My constituents feel betrayed by the promise that Reagan made, that if we grant amnesty, we'll then secure the border. We obviously didn't do that.
If you're a representative, you listen to your constituents, and then you go vote their conscience. You don't go vote your special interest buddies' interest and then come back and justify it.
In every election homophobia has been part of the landscape and in every campaign I've been able to become connected enough to my constituents that they know who I am and that I can be elected on my merits.
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has been one of my good friends in the House of Representatives. When she was brutally shot, Gabby was out doing what she loved to do - meeting with her constituents in a local setting, allowing people to speak to her directly about the issues that concerned them.
I need to maintain a home in Derbyshire and in London to be able both to represent my constituents and to fulfil my responsibilities as an MP and as a minister.
I think, with Wi-Fi, we'll make L.A. a better place for our constituents.
What I try to do is tell my constituents that this is what I believe and this is why I made that vote. And I think that that makes more sense to people generally than trying to triangulate some political position.
If elected Speaker, I promise you that we will have the courage to lead the fight for our conservative principles and make our case to the American people. But we will also have the wisdom to listen to our constituents and each other so that we always move forward together.
My constituents support Israel.
I always try to keep my constituents as up-to-date as possible with what's going on here in Washington.
Having an understanding of what's possible also makes me redouble my efforts to fight those who stand in the way of doing the things that my constituents and the country would want to get done.
A lot of members of Congress are isolated. They tend to be affluent. They tend to have a lot of people doing things for them. So sometimes they don't understand what their constituents are feeling.
It is in the best interests of my constituents and the country to repeal and replace the ACA, and defunding/delaying implementation is consistent with that approach.
I think history would say that medical research has, throughout many changes of parties, remained as one of the shining lights of bipartisan agreement, that people are concerned about health for themselves, for their families, for their constituents.
In Washington, I am a leader on the issues that matter to my community, and I think that's what my constituents want, and also I think that's what voters want. Someone who understands them, who wants to represent them, and who works tirelessly every day on behalf of their interests and their values.
Conservatives sometimes catch a tremendous about of flak from inside the Beltway - and those groups can exert extreme pressure on those conservative members to try to get them to vote in ways that are opposite of their core fundamental beliefs and the promises that they made to their constituents back in their districts.
When we embraced social media, we took more control of the Newark narrative. We increased responsiveness toward residents. We drew more of our constituents in to participate in government and improve our cities.
Our constituents rightly hold us accountable for results.
