Gary Ackerman

Trivia

• He also ventured to Kashmir enduring sub-freezing winter temperatures in an attempt to secure the release of four western hostages.
• He convinced the German government to establish a US$110 million fund to compensate 18,000 Holocaust survivors and to investigate whether 3,300 former Nazi soldiers now living in the U.S. and collecting German pensions are war criminals.
• Ackerman received an "A" on the Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues.
• He was also criticized for calling on Bush to demand U.S. Secretary Rod Paige's resignation for stating that values taught in Christian schools are better than those learned in public schools.
• In his capacity as the then Chairman of the Asia Subcommittee, Ackerman made history in the 1990s by traveling to North Korea to discuss non-proliferation.
• On January 8, 2009, Ackerman introduced a bill to order the Securities and Exchange Commission to re-institute the uptick rule, limiting the circumstances under which traders can sell stock short.
• On October 3, 2008 Rep. Ackerman voted in favor of the Troubled Asset Relief Program believing that the enumerated powers grant congress the authority to "purchase assets and equity from financial institutions in order to strengthen its financial sector."
• On October 10, 2002, Gary Ackerman was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.
• His legislation fell on deaf ears until December 2003, when his warning became prophetic and the Bush Administration among those who had opposed the bill finally imposed his ban through regulation.
• Ackerman also scored a victory in his efforts to ban downed animals from being sold as meat in supermarkets, restaurants and butcher stores.

Quotes

• “We have to have some rules and regulations in America, or the world would empty out here.”
• “Sometimes people who are Jewish are held to a higher standard which sometimes we take great pride in.”
• “We have some Jewish members of Congress, not a lot but there's a bunch of us.”
• “India is a regional power. It does not need anything to establish it.”
• “I just thought it was unconscionable for the Congress to insert itself into this debate. We are particularly unqualified to make that decision and to intrude ourselves into the lives of this family.”
• “This was not something he can argue with because these are the concerns that are circulating on the Hill.”
• “This is a win for the consumer, for our industry, and the government because it narrows the channels to report and correct problems.”
• “You need your neighbors from time to time to help you get through a situation. Having good relations with your neighbor is just being smart.”
• “People are tired of all the litigation. They're tired of the high insurance costs. The legislation will require all developers to use better practices that the good developers are using now and should result in an overall better product.”
• “What works in nine districts doesn't work in the 10th, ... The leaders don't want to drown someone along the way.”