2009: The Year in Quotes

A selection of some of the best quotations from our daily "Quote/Unquote" feature.

Like all good Americans, they understand that they're in an environment where it's wise to pursue a frugal lifestyle.
--Mark Leach, a spokesman for First Command Financial Services, on survey results indicating that federal employees on average have saved more money during the last year than the general population. (Dec. 4)

There is entirely too much emphasis being placed on these two glory hounds.
--Jon Adler, national president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, saying the focus after last week's White House security lapse should be on staffing and other problems at the Secret Service. (Dec. 1)

Given the discrimination against gays and lesbians … I don't think there are a whole lot of people out there that are trying to pretend they're gay or pretend that they're lesbians to get benefits.
--Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., countering the argument that extending benefits to partners of gay and lesbian federal employees would open the government to fraud. (Nov. 19)

Taking a job you don't like is better than not having a job at all.
--Lawrence Lucas, president of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees, urging Agriculture employees to look on the bright side of a departmentwide reorganization. (Nov. 18)

It's been a rich man's world over the last eight years.
--Former Defense acquisition chief Jacques Gansler, noting the current budget climate will force the Pentagon to be more thrifty than in recent years. (Nov. 9)

Trying to fix NSPS is like mopping a dirt floor.
--IFPTE President Gregory Junemann, arguing the Pentagon's pay-for-performance system cannot be improved. (Sept. 28)

When you think about it, the president is really the teleworker in chief.
--OPM Director John Berry, saying agencies should look to President Obama's example as they expand opportunities to work off-site. (Sept. 25)

These people are pond scum and should go to jail. Nothing is more effective than throwing cuffs on them.
--Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., encouraging watchdogs to go after criminals who exploit the Recovery Act through scams such as promising desperate citizens grants to pay off their bills. (Sept. 11)

The last thing we need is more splintering.
--Carol Bonosaro, president of the Senior Executives Association, arguing against a proposal to split the Senior Executive Service into mobile and stationary groups. (Aug. 21)

Twenty thousand people with one year's experience are not the same as 1,000 people with 20 years' experience. You need people with scar tissue.
--Former Lockheed Martin Corp. chairman Norm Augustine on Monday urging the Pentagon to make smart hiring decisions as part of its acquisition reform effort. (July 28)

I recognize OPM is a small agency. We are a flea in this town.
--OPM Director John Berry, on the importance of establishing good relationships with Office of Management and Budget officials. (July 21)

No one listens to the government when we tell them to do stuff. They listen to celebrities and they listen to their neighbors.
--John Shea, public information officer at FEMA's Office of External Affairs, on using ordinary citizens in multimedia to help convince Americans to take precautions in emergencies that they might otherwise ignore. (July 7)

Nobody needs to see my kids ... and see my wife naked in order to secure an airplane.
--Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, one of the House members spearheading an effort to prohibit TSA from using whole body imaging at primary security checkpoints. (June 2)

I shouldn't have to blow up the bureaucracy in order to get something done.
--Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., chairman of the federal workforce subcommittee, threatening during a Thursday hearing to force DHS to give its employees the right to wear face masks or respirators to protect themselves from disease. (May 15)

We can no longer afford broken window budgeting.
--OMB Director Peter R. Orszag, saying that continuing to fund wasteful programs sends a signal the government is not serious about efficiency, much as failure to repair broken windows has been found to invite crime. (May 8)

We need you.
--First lady Michelle Obama on Thursday telling federal employees at OPM that civil servants will play a critical role in implementing the president's reform agenda. (April 24)

Frankly, we're getting a lot of folks applying for positions who have financial management backgrounds and no longer have jobs in that environment.
--Shay Assad, director of Defense procurement, acquisition policy and strategic sourcing, on the hiring potential of a new plan to boost the Pentagon's contracting workforce, during a breakfast hosted by Government Executive. (May 9)

You're talking about people who are up to their elbows in alligators.
--Partnership for Public Service President Max Stier, offering one potential reason the new administration has yet to issue a comprehensive strategy for boosting government staffing. (March 3)

I'm going to be a bit of a pain in the neck.
--Vice President Joe Biden, forewarning agency officials that he will ask for frequent updates as they implement the economic stimulus package. (Feb. 26)

I reluctantly request that Congress remove the annual appropriation bill rider, first added in 1983, that requires the Postal Service to deliver mail six days each week.
--Postmaster General John Potter testifying before Congress on Wednesday that massive deficits could force the agency to cut out one day of mail delivery. (Jan. 29)

Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
--President Barack Obama during his Jan. 20 inaugural address to the nation. (Jan. 21)