Political Quotes

On the recordFebruary 16, 2017
I rise today, humbled to offer my first official speech as the junior U.S. Senator from the great State of California. I rise with a deep sense of reverence for this institution, for its history, and for its unique role as the defender of our Nation's ideals. Above all, I rise today with a sense of gratitude for all those upon whose shoulders we stand. For me, it starts with my mother Shyamala Harris. She arrived at the University of California, Berkeley, from India in 1959 with dreams of becoming a scientist. The plan, when she finished school, was to go back home to a traditional Indian marriage. But when she met my father Donald Harris, she made a different plan. She went against a practice reaching back thousands of years, and instead of an arranged marriage, she chose a love marriage. This act of self-determination made my sister Maya and me, and it made us Americans, like millions of children of immigrants before and since. I know she is looking down on us today, and knowing my mother, she is probably saying: Kamala, what on Earth is going on down there? We have to stand up for our values. So in the spirit of my mother, who was always direct, I cannot mince words. In the early weeks of this administration, we have seen an unprecedented series of Executive actions that have hit our immigrant and religious communities like a cold front, striking a chilling fear in the hearts of millions of good, hard-working people, all by Executive fiat.…
Said by
Andy Harris
Republican · Maryland
Source
govinfo.gov
Feb 16, 2017

Share

More from Andy Harris

Aug 27, 2025

If the Democrats want to roll the dice, let them roll the dice.

nbcnews.com
Jun 30, 2026

We have to pass laws to secure our borders, so that 10 to 20 million people don’t come in under future Democratic presidents.

rollcall.com
May 6, 2025

A lot of times on this floor and in the press you hear about how the Republicans somehow are cutting Medicaid or slashing Medicaid, but the facts are that in the Republican budget resolution, we increase Medicaid expenditures by at least…

govinfo.gov
May 21, 2025

There is still a lot of work to be done in deficit reduction and ending waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program.

nbcnews.com

Other voices in this conversation