Pramila Jayapal

“I really get my best work done in the morning, so if I have to edit speeches or comments, that all happens before I get to work.”

“If you look at the future of the Democratic Party, things like raising the minimum wage - Democrats need to get behind raising the minimum wage and be clear on where we stand on trade deals.”

“We have to remember that disagreeing with people is fine; it is dehumanizing people that is not, and when that happens, we have to be ready to speak up.”

“I'm the first South Asian woman to be elected to the House of Representatives.”

“My mother, with a Master's in English Literature, taught me to appreciate language and that words matter.”

“Districts are really different across the country, but the more that people on the progressive Left show power at the ballot box - and reclassify some of the ideas that we've called 'progressive,' but that are really mainstream ideas, like college for all - the better.”

“Gays and lesbians gained rights in this country though activism and organizing, creating political space and demanding change so that lawmakers and justices could do what they knew was right. That organizing allowed Americans to get to know gays and lesbians as our daughters and sons, our neighbors, and our friends.”

“Fundamentally, I've always been a fan of actually looking at our whole state tax system and really figuring out how we reform our tax system so that everyone's paying their fair share but we don't have a lot of nickel and diming with 100 taxes that end up hitting people that maybe can't bear it the most.”

“Racism, sexism, and age-ism are all alive and well in the U.S. House.”

“What Republicans so cynically refer to as 'chain migration' is actually family-based immigration - a humane and compassionate policy of reunifying families. It allows spouses to be together, siblings to support each other, and children to be with their parents. It allows the immigrants who are already here to be successful.”

“If someone tells me that something can't be done, that makes me more determined to do it.”

“There were not that many people who were willing to come out and stand up for Muslims or stand up against the abuses of the Bush administration. That was post-9/11, so I think there was a lot of fear at the time about exactly what that meant - were they unpatriotic if they stood up?”

“We the people are sick and tired of the criminalization of immigrants, sick to our hearts to see Trump's family separation policies rip families apart across our country.”

“Trump has hated Amazon for a long time, and I think that that came out in many interviews that he's done with 'Vanity Fair' and with others.”

“I have a little yoga ritual that I do just to move my body around. Whatever I do, it's usually very fast because often I don't have the kind of time that I would like to.”

“We can never be afraid to stand up for what is right, no matter what others may say. And sometimes, if that means taking a lonely road, if what we are standing for is true, then perhaps moonlight or sunshine will light our way and make it less lonely.”

“My grandmother was whip smart as well as an incredible athlete. She played tennis in her sari, cheered on the Indian team in cricket matches, and tried to convince us that her made-up words were real so she could win a Scrabble game.”

“Civil rights icons, famous journalists, big-time movie producers may all have credits to their name that we can recognize and be grateful for, but their record of good works cannot excuse their harassment of women.”

“What makes America great is our commitment to our values of inclusivity and opportunity for all.”