Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Gee, I wish that life were so black and white that you can't think of a single person who, you know, a good person who has done bad things.
There are people in our country, in our communities who are being marginalized and discriminated against every single day. I fight for them.
Browbeating the tech industry for a problem that does not exist also draws attention away from the real problems with Google and other tech companies.
Diversifying our energy sources will create jobs, improve our national security and lay the foundation for a strong, sustainable economy in the future.
I got involved in the political arena in college, protesting the Vietnam War, and became friends with some of the activists at the University of Hawaii.
Until I got to the nomination of Judge Gorsuch and so much preparation time, I really wasn't familiar with the blue-slip process. But it's time-honored.
The millions of people in our country with severe health-care needs needed to know that many of us in the House and Senate have those kinds of concerns, too.
Hawaii - the Aloha state - is built on the strength of its multicultural society, from our indigenous Native Hawaiian people to the many immigrants that followed.
We all know that the earlier cancer is detected the more successful treatment will be, and my cancer had spread to my ribs and that was a very fast-growing cancer.
That used to be one of my greatest fears growing up: my mom would get sick and then she wouldn't be able to go to work and then there is no food or money for rent.
One of my favorite Japanese foods is called natto. It's fermented soybeans. I grew up in Japan eating natto. It's definitely an acquired taste. It's basically smelly.
The passing of my friend and a great American hero, Dan Inouye, is a major loss for the country and Hawaii. But the people of Hawaii are strong and we will persevere.
We don't need another nuclear arms race to proceed a pace and then to encourage other countries to become very, to develop these kinds of capabilities also. This is not what we need.
Our country is made up of groups of immigrants who came here hoping for a better life. They created America. It's a sad thing to have so many people not remember that, including Trump.
The undocumented should pay penalties for the laws they broke by coming here, but we should remember that the founding fathers were willing to break up an empire to achieve their dreams.
Trump is a major motivation to be speaking out because I so disagree with some of the things that he decides on, and you notice there's a lawsuit on just about everything he does? My gosh.
There are people getting screwed in our country every single second, minute, hour of the day. And if by our work, we can decrease that number, we'll make a difference; we'll be doing our jobs.
Most of us look forward to the start of a new year as a clean slate. We reflect on the past 12 months, take stock of where we are, and make new resolutions about how to improve in the coming year.
Our military's presence in Hawaii not only plays a critical role in our national security but also in driving our state's economy and supporting thousands of jobs in the public and private sectors.
We need to have comprehensive immigration reform and that means there should be a path for citizenship. And certainly I support the DREAM Act to help all of these young people who were brought here.
Both political parties should be able to support the idea that taxpayers who are lawfully present, working, and paying taxes should be able to use the programs their tax dollars pay for - it is only fair.
I was in sixth grade at Koko Head Elementary School in Honolulu, and was chosen to pin the 50th star on the American flag in front of my teachers and classmates at a special assembly to celebrate statehood.
I always saw my mother just making decisions that helped our family. It was much later when I realized how courageous she really was, and I came to understand what a risk-taker she was. That's very much a part of how I am.
I've been very open about my health challenge because I think it's really important to let my constituents know that in spite of the fact that I am still in treatment, nothing about this treatment prevents me from doing my job.
I am fighting kidney cancer. And I'm just so grateful that I had health insurance so that I could concentrate on the care that I needed rather than how the heck I was going to afford the care that was going to probably save my life.
Clearly, there is a growing market for affordable, abundant and sustainable energy. Industry is working to meet the needs of this market, and in the process is creating jobs, technologies and industries in states across the country.
The thing about immigrants is the people who come to this country with that kind of drive? They are risk-takers. And we need risk-takers who want to improve their lives, create jobs and do those things that add to the dynamism of our economy.
When we in Congress set the terms under which immigrants in this country must live, we wield a power that is checked primarily by our individual sense of fairness: the power to set taxes and make laws that apply to people who do not have representation.
That makes a difference when you have all these Asian faces running then getting elected. You have some 30 people, many of them Democrats, running for Congress. When the community sees the other faces who look like them can run and win, I think it encourages them.
I never took a path that was the usual path for someone in my generation. A lot of the women who I went to school with, in those days, it was still the track of becoming a teacher, becoming a nurse. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I didn't go down that path.
I've been saying it at all our Senate Democratic retreats we need to speak to the heart, not in a manipulative way, not in a way that brings forth everybody's fears and resentments, but truly to speak to the heart so that people know that we're actually on their side.
I bring quadruple diversity to the Senate: I'm a woman; I'll be the first Asian woman ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate; I am an immigrant; I am a Buddhist. When I said this at one of my gatherings, they said, 'Yes, but are you gay?' and I said, 'Nobody's perfect.'
For the Navy, developing alternatives to fossil fuels isn't just about fighting climate change - though that's an important side benefit. Biofuels will also play a much more practical role in the Navy's fuel mix, boosting our energy security and supporting the U.S. economy.
My deep emotional connection to my mother, a remarkable woman who made a hard choice to save her children, and who valiantly struggled to care for us as a single parent, is the current that has driven my entire life. Everything I've accomplished is a testament to her fortitude.
I had run other people's campaigns. I had been doing political activities for a decade before I ever ran for office myself. That is so much the experience of women of my generation. We always feel as though we have to bring so much more to the table, and that never stops the guys.
Women are problem solvers, and often we don't get much credit for that because the typical image of a leader is someone who's loud, obnoxious, chest-pounding. That's not my vision of what true leadership is; true leaders are the ones who work with great commitment to get something done.
When I arrived at the Capitol in 2007 to take my oath as a new member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I had the privilege of filling the seat held for so long and so well by my friend Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress. I was so grateful to her.
We cannot afford to continue losing our coral reefs, which are suffering from a number of threats such as warmer temperatures, more acidic waters, and disease, and that is why Hawaii has become a leader in taking steps to mitigate the harmful impacts of sunscreen on our marine environment.
My friend Patsy Mink was a champion for social and economic justice, equality and civil rights for women and marginalized communities. She was a trailblazer who never backed down from a challenge and whose work in Hawaii and Congress brought positive change to the lives of women, children, and minorities in Hawaii and across the country.
Social Security is a solemn promise to kupuna like my 88-year-old mother that they can rely on the retirement they've earned. While I'm glad to see our seniors receive an increase for the second year in a row, I wish the cost-of-living adjustment could be larger. However, every little bit helps make a difference in these tough economic times.