Matt Salmon

“Sadly, far too many politicians in Washington lack the courage to do something to fix our problems. They are worried about the political implications of making the hard choices we so desperately need to cut spending and shrink government.”

“The federal government is far larger than the Founding Fathers ever intended it to be. We have racked up over $16 trillion of debt through wasteful spending, and it is time that we cut that waste and start reducing the size of our government.”

“Through the Committee on Education and the Workforce, we need to ensure we are educating a future generation to achieve a workforce for the 21st century. I believe the best education solutions come from those closest to the students: state and local entities.”

“Yes, I believe in school choice. Parents know far better than government bureaucrats what their children need from an education standpoint, and they should be permitted to make that choice.”

“Any bailout of a private company is a bad decision by our federal government. Private companies have the right to succeed, but they also should have the right to fail.”

“The federal government needs to get off the backs of small businesses and let the private sector grow and create jobs instead of harnessing it with onerous regulations and a repressive tax code.”

“I am sick and tired of folks that are doing everything they can to try to get a bad bill going, and then they vote against it when the bad bill's got the momentum to go through. We should be doing everything, using every tool in our toolbox, to stop bad legislation from happening.”

“I do not favor or support, nor will I vote for, a pathway to citizenship for people that are here who've broken the law. I would support - after we have developed a secure border - a mechanism for allowing those folks to work here in America... Everything that we should do should be based on good, sound policy and what's right for America.”

“I was listening to the guy that represented me in the state Senate, and I just got really frustrated. I called my wife and said, 'I've always wanted to do something that makes a difference.' So I ended up running and won.”

“Why would I be willing to challenge my Republican leadership? Because my allegiance will always be to the Constitution and the American people first and foremost, not to my political party.”

“Eternal life should be sought elsewhere, perhaps in the religious community, not politics.”

“I've always been extremely conservative, but I've never been mean-spirited.”

“I don't support gay marriage. I'm just not there, as far as believing in my heart that we should change 2,000 years of social policy in favor of a redefinition of the family.”

“If there's anything I have learned since returning to Congress, it's that talk is still cheap, progress is still slow, and our liberties continue to erode every day.”

“When you give the government an inch, they take a mile.”

“I think a lot of people start out full of idealism and fresh ideas. And then a lot of times, being re-elected becomes more important than staying true to your principles.”

“I found the source of global warming is coming from the hot air coming out of Washington.”