Apparently the Dirksen Center denies he really said it, although he should have. But there are a lot of great Dirksen quotes at their website:
dirksencenter.org
We are becoming so accustomed to millions and billions of dollars that "thousands" has almost passed out of the dictionary.
[Congressional Record, January 10, 1964, p.?]
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I am reminded of a little story that I have previously told on the Senate floor. A fellow in one of the States had a balky mule. The mule lay down on the pavement and would not budge. His owner wore out a club on the mule. It did no good. The man built a modest fire under the mule. That did not help matters. Finally, a veterinarian came along and said, "What is the matter, Joe? You having trouble with your mule?" "Yeah, Doc, I can't do a thing with it."
So the veterinarian reached into his case and got out a great big animal syringe, filled it with something, and gave the mule a squirt in the hind quarters. In a little bit the mule got up and started down the street lickity-split.
The owner looked at the disappearing mule, looked at the doc, and said, "Doc, how much does that cost?"
The veterinarian said, "That's 10 cents."
The owner said, "Here is 30 cents. Give me two shots so I can catch that mule."
The story illustrates my point. We set a limit, and then we have to catch up to that limit all over again. So we set the limit higher. Then our expenditures rise to that point. There must be a Parkinson's law that fits the situation. We had better find out what it is, because the process is alarming.
[Congressional Record, March 1?, 1962, p.3219]
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