Quotes from Charles Schumer

The public knows how many good things there are as part of the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans say they're going to repeal. They don't know what to replace it with.

No one believed [the 1986 amnesty for illegal aliens] was tough enough on illegal immigration, and it didn't give enough flexibility on future legal immigration.

When one has success, the answer is not to undo that success. It is to continue what has been done.

It is essential that all Americans take the time to honor and remember those individuals who gave their lives in defense of our liberty.

I don't think we should be putting first-time drug offenders in jail for five years. It's a waste of resources.

Republicans always try to paint Democrats as weak on defense. This time, they can't. After all, Mitt Romney's idea of an overseas accomplishment is sending U.S. jobs there.

When Mitt Romney says he wants to reform the tax code, hold on to your wallets.

A devastating commentary on the war in Iraq is that we have been unable to spend money on infrastructure.

Voters did say 'repeal health care ' they did say 'reduce the size of government.' But not a single one of them from the tea party or anywhere said 'give tax breaks to the wealthiest.'

You do have to change things as warfare changes.

Arafat was a barrier to peace.

So I want my kids to go to public schools because I think it's a better education overall.

I believe the war on terror is the vital discussion of this decade and of our generation, probably. To win the war on terror, you need a good offense and a good defense. On defense, I regret to say, basically, this administration has not come close to doing what is necessary.

I think teaching should be an exalted profession, not a picked-on profession.

I'd like to see the health care professionals making decisions, not some bureaucrat in Indianapolis working for an insurance company.

I made education the highest priority of my campaign - actually education and jobs - and the reason is a simple one: I think the future of America depends on it.

I respect people who feel things passionately. I do. But when someone is a judge, that is not what they should bring to the bench. It is not really passion, except in rare instances, that serves the bench well. It is, rather, an ability to understand the law and follow it.

We are on the precipice of a crisis, a Constitutional crisis. The checks and balances, which have been at the core of this Republic, are about to be evaporated by the nuclear option. The checks and balances that say if you get 51% of the vote, you don't get your way 100% of the time. It is amazing, it's almost a temper tantrum.

If we are going to stay a great power and I hope and pray we will we need the truth. We need to know what is going right and we need to know what is going wrong. There is no greater time than now.

When one has success, the answer is not to undo that success. It is to continue what has been done.

Giving up even an ounce of precious freedom is a very serious thing to do.

I'm strongly for a patient Bill of Rights. Decisions ought to be made by doctors, not accountants.

There are many reasons why Mitt Romney should not become president, but perhaps the most important of all is the narrowness of his experience, perspective and vision.

Barack Obama knows that to create an economy built to last, we need to focus on middle-class families. Families who stay up on Sunday nights pacing the floor, like my dad did, while their children, tucked in bed, dream big dreams. Families who aren't sure what Monday morning will bring, but who believe our nation's best days are still ahead.