In their words

“I’ll be going from $3 billion to $30 billion.This is a step up.”

— Washington state Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, quoted in the Everett Herald on his reassignment from chairman of the House Capital Budget Committee, which handles spending for construction, to vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which deals with the state’s operating budget.

“I suspect in hindsight some of the folks in the administration probably would not make the same decisions that they made.”

— Defense Secretary Robert Gates, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the conduct of the war in Iraq.

“Sounds to me like she is cleaning the drawers out.”

— Idaho state Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, co-chairwoman of the House Budget Committee, on state schools Superintendent Marilyn Howard’s decision to give her employees $120,098 in bonuses before she leaves office.

“What’s constitutionally required one day is constitutionally prohibited the next day? That’s very odd.”

— U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, during arguments in a case that challenges school districts in Seattle and Louisville, Ky., for using students’ race to achieve diversity in attendance decisions.

“You have to keep your head on a swivel.”

— Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jesus Hernandez, describing the tense conditions under which he earned a Bronze Star disposing of explosive devices while under attack in Iraq.

“I’d rather call myself than someone else call for him doing something worse than this.”

— South Carolina mother Brandi Ervin, whose exasperation with her 12-year-old son’s escalating misbehavior led her to call police, who arrested him for opening a Christmas present early.

“Finally, we rewarded the fans.”

— Washington State University basketball coach Tony Bennett, celebrating the Cougars’ upset victory over then-18th-ranked Gonaga University, a contrast to several disappointing recent seasons.

“If he’s using meth, we could be here a couple of days.”

— Spokane Police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee, during a 15-hour standoff between police and Jeremy Dee Hanson, who was holding a woman and her 6-year-old daughter hostage in a north Spokane motel.

“Those trips you had planned in January, forget ‘em.”

— Incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., telling reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference that the next Congress plans a more demanding work schedule than the notoriously short hours that have been the norm for the past two years.