If you want to come fight the good fight to make a difference for people and to try to get the government back on track, where we govern from the middle and not from the extremes, then understand that it's a lonely road, and you're going to have a hard time.

Pete Gallego

Time Men Government

As the polarization in D.C. spreads, the people willing to come to the middle find less and less acceptance.

Willing Will Tan

Our challenge is to stop people from driving drunk. Punishing them afterwards doesn't bring back the victim or make the family feel better. The idea is to stop the DWI before it happens.

Pete Gallego

War Family Victim

I don't have the luxury of just hanging out in my primary and, once I win the primary, I'm fine. I have to talk to Democrats and Republicans.

Pete Gallego

Win Us Talk

It's a lack of respect for the community when you're not willing to debate because it's the 'wrong' network.

Pete Gallego

Work Respect You

In the district I represent, I have to talk to everybody.

Pete Gallego

Very Talk T

If you want to come fight the good fight to make a difference for people and to try to get the government back on track, where we govern from the middle and not from the extremes, then understand that it's a lonely road, and you're going to have a hard time.

Pete Gallego

Time Men Government

One of the things that ties people together, whether they live in a rural or urban area, is the really big number of people who have served in the military. Veterans issues are very important in the district.

Pete Gallego

Who Whether Veterans

Obama's very unpopular. I don't need a poll to tell me that.

Pete Gallego

Very Unpopular UN

It's tremendously undemocratic in a democratic society when you deliberately disenfranchise thousands of people.

Pete Gallego

Society Men You

I told the president 'no' to special treatment for Congress when he tried to exempt them from Obamacare.

Pete Gallego

Men Car Tried

In Mexico, they don't have birth certificates... They don't have registration cards for voters. They have one national ID. We don't have a national ID.

Pete Gallego

Car Voters Voter

I learned long ago you run unopposed, or you run scared.

Pete Gallego

Car You UN

No one will steal my son's American Dream.

Pete Gallego

Will Tea T

It's important we understand our system seeks justice and not revenge.

Pete Gallego

Us Understand UN

The men and women at our borders, given adequate resources, are doing an excellent job of keeping us safe.

Pete Gallego

Women Men Us

The fact that I am Latino is not a secret. There's not much I can do about that. It is what it is. I think people know that my last name ends in a vowel. What can I tell you?

Pete Gallego

You Vowel Vow

Around here, manana seems to be the busiest day of the week. We never seem to get there.

Pete Gallego

Week Us UN

Frankly, no issue is worth shutting down the government and denying pay to those committed to public service.

Pete Gallego

Men Government Yin

It's always bothersome when California does something better than Texas.

Pete Gallego

Ways Way Thing

When Congress puts party labels aside, like we did on VA reform, we can accomplish some great things for the American people. But those occasions were far too rare.

Pete Gallego

Great Art Were

It takes a certain personality to thrive as a member of the House.

Pete Gallego

My grandmother was not a U.S. citizen. Growing up along the border, you see the real human side of immigration - not the picture often drawn by politicians far removed from the border.

Pete Gallego

I like having a battleground district because I think that's real-life America.

Pete Gallego

The luxury for me is that I've spent already several millions of dollars across the district getting people to know who I am... So, my name ID is really, really high.

Pete Gallego

It was in the best interests of Zavala and other counties that we move forward with a farm bill and provide certainty to ranchers, farmers, food banks, and other providers.

Pete Gallego

A robust democracy requires active participation.

Pete Gallego

I think it becomes incumbent upon a candidate to essentially disavow some of the things that are in that party platform. Otherwise, I think the assumption is that you are a true believer.

Pete Gallego

The irony is that kids are treated equally when it comes to tests and standards and expectations but not treated equally when providing funds to meet those standards and expectations.

Pete Gallego

There's no such thing as anybody who can't be beat; everybody can be beat. It's a question of how hard you're willing to work. It's a question of the environment, the surroundings. Frankly, there's a lot of issues with timing.

Pete Gallego

PACs don't vote in the district; people do.

Pete Gallego

I saw how hard my parents worked, and I didn't want to be a freeloader.

Pete Gallego

Because fossil fuels are not only a finite resource but hazardous to the environment, it is imperative that we diversify the resources used in generating electricity.

Pete Gallego

Every decision I make in Congress will be centered on the needs of the district.

Pete Gallego

I didn't come to Washington to be part of the problem.

Pete Gallego

Our voting records are not necessarily the same, but, you know, we're all Texans, and at the end of the day, we try to help each other out.

Pete Gallego

HB 2 leaves 90% of the children behind. The disconnect between this bill and the basic needs of Texas schoolchildren is appalling.

Pete Gallego

How do you defend inaction in the face of crisis? How is that defensible for anybody?

Pete Gallego

We've made our living for a long time on commerce and trade at the border.

Pete Gallego

If immigration reform doesn't happen, that doesn't say good things about our democracy, that everybody wants it, but Congress couldn't pass it.

Pete Gallego

There's this fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party, and until that fight gets settled - because they're the majority - there's a lot of things that are pretty much on hold.

Pete Gallego

California - with more cars, more drivers and more people - still has less DWI-related deaths than Texas does.

Pete Gallego

This is pool. This is setting up your next shot, and I always want to make sure when we're setting up San Antonio's next shot we have a good shot at making sure that we continue to build our infrastructure in such a way that San Antonio will be a player for years to come in national defense issues.

Pete Gallego

Here's the thing about Texas - and the thing about the border. We all know undocumented immigrants. They sit in our churches, are friends with our children, and work all around us. They are just like us.

Pete Gallego

The policy of the future cannot forever be determined by the politics of the past - or even the present.

Pete Gallego

I was impressed by the capability and talent and intellect of our troops on the ground. These kids are really impressive.

Pete Gallego

When the law says you're entitled to an attorney, it doesn't mean you're entitled to an attorney who sleeps or an attorney who doesn't do his job.

Pete Gallego

A lawmaker cannot be pro-sequester while also purporting to be pro-national security or supportive of a strong economy.

Pete Gallego

We must work for a solution to address the senseless cuts that hurt our border, our economy, and our country.

Pete Gallego

Sequestration will make it extremely challenging - and in many cases impossible - for employees to meet their mortgage payments, pay their healthcare expenses, plan for retirement, or help their children attend college. To be blunt, these families are at risk.

Pete Gallego

I have never been in favor of gay marriage, and I am not in favor of gay marriage.

Pete Gallego