Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
NUMBER:
1128
AUTHOR:
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–63)
QUOTATION:
Lobbyists are in many cases expert technicians and capable of explaining complex and difficult subjects in a clear, understandable fashion. They engage in personal discussions with Members of Congress in which they can explain in detail the reasons for positions they advocate…. Because our congressional representation is based on geographical boundaries, the lobbyists who speak for the various economic, commercial, and other functional interests of this country serve a very useful purpose and have assumed an important role in the legislative process.
ATTRIBUTION:
Senator JOHN F. KENNEDY, “To Keep the Lobbyist Within Bounds,” The New York Times Magazine, February 19, 1956.—Congressional Record, March 2, 1956, vol. 102, pp. 3802–3.
