John Fleming Quotes

It is foolish for Republicans to continue opening the door to job-killing tax hikes while Democrats refuse to explain how they propose to reform mandatory spending - mostly entitlements - that makes up almost two-thirds of the federal budget.

- John Fleming

I can't think of anything right now that could be more damaging for our economy than passing and putting into effect and implementing Obamacare.

- John Fleming

Uninsured care happens in this country, and here's the problem. It's not properly accounted for. The people who pay for uninsured care at the moment are the hospitals and the doctors and all of the medical providers.

- John Fleming

At any time, somebody can blow themselves up and take Americans with them. They can blow up an airplane; they can crash an airplane. That's something we have to worry about every day - we spend 40 billion dollars yearly on homeland security. That has nothing to do with Crusades or any of that other nonsense.

- John Fleming

We think our leadership has been too timid to go after corruption, and often times, they bow to the liberal progressive demands of the White House instead of standing up for our values.

- John Fleming

We have too many in Washington who are all too willing to just go along with the status quo and not make any waves.

- John Fleming

The Freedom Caucus, like many of the members, feel like that we have too much of a top-heavy, power-based type of leadership program where the decisions are made exclusively at the top and that members voices are not heard, which means that our constituents' voices are not heard: those that we represent.

- John Fleming

Washington faces many challenges these days, and today's United States Senate needs more trusted conservatives going there to make decisions and choices that put the people first and not the business-as-usual crowd.

- John Fleming

The truth is that the banks that are really hurting under Dodd-Frank, really getting no relief, are the community banks.

- John Fleming

I have never believed in the fallacy that the federal government can buy its way out of economic troubles through needless spending. For that reason, I am proud to oppose 'stimulus' packages and endless corporate bailouts, which will do little but weaken the long-term integrity of the American economy.

- John Fleming

If a woman chooses to have an abortion, it is legal to do that in this country, but I don't think taxpayers should be put in a position to have to pay for those abortions.

- John Fleming

In a tripartite government with its checks and balances, we have lost the balances.

- John Fleming

We have an unprecedented number of primary care doctors who are opting out of Medicare.

- John Fleming

We are either going to go down the socialist road and become like Western Europe and create, I guess really a godless society, an atheist society. Or we're going to continue down the other pathway, where we believe in freedom of speech, individual liberties, and that we remain a Christian nation.

- John Fleming

The Obama administration would say that if you are a Catholic institution, you can only limit your conscience waivers or exclusions to people of the Catholic Church. That would mean that Catholic institutions couldn't treat people of other religions, and that makes no sense.

- John Fleming

The liberal social experiment with our military continues. A same-sex marriage-like ceremony should not have occurred at Fort Polk, especially since the people of Louisiana have made it abundantly clear that our state does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions.

- John Fleming

I saw people, and I can't name them of course, that maybe were skeptical at first that were really sold on Donald Trump.

- John Fleming

I think always, when you have a candidate promising free stuff, and another promising less stuff or nothing, the one who promises more is always going to have the advantage.

- John Fleming

In terms of Republicans, we have got to get to our cohorts in the Republican Party to get them to understand if we are going to get this country to its traditional values... we're going to have to control our borders and manage this huge change in our culture that's occurring.

- John Fleming

The first thing we need is for President Obama to finally enforce current immigration law and strengthen our borders. To take up any other agenda is bad policy for the American people and bad politics for Republicans.

- John Fleming

Most small businesses in this country today are taxed at the individual level as Corporation LLC. So whatever is cut out of those earnings is money taken out of capital for reinvestment for creating more jobs and opening up more locations.

- John Fleming

The use of threats and intimidation to force energy companies to submit to an extremist agenda may be fitting under a totalitarian regime, but it is never acceptable in the United States.

- John Fleming

Here's the question for my fellow Republicans: Do we want to be the first-ever GOP House majority to raise federal marginal income tax rates?

- John Fleming

Republicans must stop putting tax increases on the fiscal cliff negotiating table and start demanding that Democrats put forth serious proposals to reduce spending.

- John Fleming

There is a profiteer when it comes to oil. 36 to 63 cents per gallon is swept off the top. And who profits from that? The government profits from it. And what does the government do with much of that money? It puts it into so-called 'alternative energy,' with so-called phony 'green jobs' that we're yet to see being produced.

- John Fleming

We all say that we want to repeal Obamacare, and we would all love a clean, full repeal. But the truth is, sometimes it's kind of like making sausage. You have to do it one step at a time. You've got to approach it from the standpoint that you make substantial gains today, and then the next opportunity, you make more.

- John Fleming

I think among different members there had been concerns that the RSC had grown so large, and it had many members who really didn't have that conservative voting records, which really is a testimony to what a positive brand conservatism is.

- John Fleming

Now that we have the Senate and the House fully controlled by Republicans, we need to be working together.

- John Fleming

Many of us have questions about what Trump's positions really are. We want to make sure we are on board with each other.

- John Fleming

That's how you win these battles over long periods of time. You continue to fight. You continue to bring it up. You continue to message it to your constituents and to America in general.

- John Fleming

ISIS is a battle-hardened, highly trained organization that is well-funded. They're one of the strongest armies in the world for their size.

- John Fleming

The government should not have the right to force you to participate in some type of behavior that is going to conflict with your conscience rights, and if it does or potentially does, you should have the ability to have access to courts, and currently, that's not necessarily the case.

- John Fleming

We'll keep sending more and more conservatives to Washington, and we'll eventually get these bills passed. But don't be afraid to pass good, strong, conservative legislation.

- John Fleming

I was elected to represent my district, not to predict the future.

- John Fleming

If members of Congress believe so strongly that government-run health care is the best solution for hard working American families, I think it only fitting that Americans see them lead the way.

- John Fleming

I see a bright, bright future for the Republican Party and conservatism in general.

- John Fleming

It's possible that in the future, women could be drafted not only into the military... but actually drafted into combat. I'm very uncomfortable with that.

- John Fleming

The government has a key role in regulating and making sure there's an even playing field and protecting consumers. No question about it.

- John Fleming

The White House has a secular, humanistic agenda.

- John Fleming

By definition, chaplains minister to the spiritual needs of our men and women in armed services, a vital function that an individual without any inclination toward spirituality would not be able to perform.

- John Fleming

As a congressman, why should I be forced to peruse cable stations and blog sites for information on the discussions and then be asked to vote for the deal when I have no input and no time to know even what's in it?

- John Fleming

Everybody who is a Republican wants to call themselves conservative even if they don't necessarily vote that way.

- John Fleming

Let's be clear: raising taxes during a very slow recovery is likely to lead to another recession, and it will do absolutely nothing to balance the budget.

- John Fleming

What happens is, in my own case - my own LLCs - the income flows to my personal tax return, whatever is left over after taxes are paid, I feed my family on the one hand, and on the other hand, I reinvest in my business.

- John Fleming

They want to wipe - in fact, the Democrat Party in their own platform last year wiped even - any reference to God completely from their platform.

- John Fleming

Public servants should always be accountable and responsible for what they are advocating, and I challenge the American people to demand this from their representatives.

- John Fleming

While we must condemn any misuse of their authority, let's not forget that, by far, police are fulfilling their duty to protect and serve.

- John Fleming

We need to cut the capital gains tax; we need to take regulations off the backs of business and allow banks to once again lend.

- John Fleming

If we want to increase revenue, we need more taxpayers. The way to do that is employ more people.

- John Fleming

I certainly don't think that taxpayers should subsidize abortions.

- John Fleming

The Freedom Caucus is very popular in my state.

- John Fleming

In the final analysis, I believe that an atheist chaplain would be the last person in the world that we would want a dying soldier who needs that last moment counselling in their life.

- John Fleming

President Obama is more and more beginning to look like the hypocrite-in-chief when it comes to the war on terrorism. All sorts of things that he criticized the president for, he's actually continued and even extended. This drone attack program, he's got it at the highest level ever.

- John Fleming

The people who come across the border are hard-working family people. They have great values, and that's all well and good but they are also very, very consistent Democrat voters.

- John Fleming

Most Americans do not support amnesty, especially without securing the borders.

- John Fleming

I've heard enough of Democrats claiming a balanced approach.

- John Fleming

I want to see the farm piece passed, but the nearly a trillion dollars in SNAP spending for food stamps is way too much.

- John Fleming

I'm grateful for the many Louisianans who have urged me to challenge Senator Landrieu in 2014.

- John Fleming

In my view, Obamacare is the most existential threat to our economy than anything we've ever had since the Great Depression, so I think a little bit of additional deficit is nothing compared to delaying if not repealing Obamacare.

- John Fleming

We love a growing private sector that allows people freedom of choice, to choose their health plan, to choose their doctor, to choose their hospital.

- John Fleming

There is no ground on which House Republican leaders should compromise until Democrats are finally ready to give up their spending addiction.

- John Fleming

If we're going to change leadership, we need to do it in a very systematic and organized way.

- John Fleming

People on the Left really want a single-payer system. They really want - so even the Left doesn't want Obamacare. They want single payer, and we want a market-driven, patient-central system.

- John Fleming

Louisiana's a very conservative state. When we've ever polled this, we've found that they like conservative reforms. They want us to fight back against our leadership and Democrats, so it's very consistent.

- John Fleming

We owe our law enforcement officers the highest respect.

- John Fleming

In this country, most people feel that being successful in their business is a virtue, not a vice, and once we begin to identify it as a vice, this country is going down.

- John Fleming

I introduced H.Res 430, a congressional resolution calling upon the president to declare a National Day of Prayer for Law Enforcement.

- John Fleming

The polls are with us on this. They say the American people, more than anything, want to see spending cuts rather than tax increases.

- John Fleming

Don't take risk, and don't get into debt.

- John Fleming

By the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over.

- John Fleming

We need to restore the Bush tax cuts or actually make them permanent.

- John Fleming

One way or another, I want to be a positive force for the people of Louisiana and the United States of America in whatever way I can serve.

- John Fleming

We know that the crime committed by people with guns by criminals, they get the guns by flouting the law to begin with. They don't go to gun shows.

- John Fleming

It's all about secular unionism, the advancement of atheism, which they even tried to create in this law - Democrats did - an atheistic chaplaincy.

- John Fleming

For nearly a century, Republican-controlled Houses held the line on tax rates, a Republican coup de pointe to Democratic tax-increase parries.

- John Fleming

It's very clear that Louisiana is gonna be voting for Republicans for statewide elections going forward because that's just where we are as a state.

- John Fleming

Louisiana wants a leader that will take their values to D.C. and will fight for them without wavering.

- John Fleming

Seeking justice is always our goal, but we see many too willing to circumvent that.

- John Fleming

Washington does not tax too little: it spends way too much.

- John Fleming

America is much better than the leadership we have in Washington.

- John Fleming

I'm a public servant. And I work for the American people.

- John Fleming

Our constituents rightly hold us accountable for results.

- John Fleming

The most effective thing we can do is to limit spending.

- John Fleming

I'm concerned that Speaker Boehner is getting ahead of House Republicans when he commits to getting a 'comprehensive approach' to immigration taken care of 'once and for all.'

- John Fleming

We've got our own power - the power of the purse.

- John Fleming

Class warfare has never created a job.

- John Fleming

Whenever there's a bad law, it can be repealed or nullified.

- John Fleming

We know that terrorism is going to happen in the future, and we need to be prepared for it.

- John Fleming

I don't think we should run government based on economists' predictions.

- John Fleming

I think that we need, you know, Sen. Vitter is quite conservative, and I think we need to replace a good strong conservative with another conservative.

- John Fleming

I'm pro-free enterprise.

- John Fleming