[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 24 (Thursday, February 14, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

  (Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, it's deja vu all over again. Here we are 
just 2 weeks--5 legislative days--away from sequestration, and yet the 
House is about to leave town for a 9-day recess. That's unacceptable. 
We should be working every day to avoid this sequester and to avert it.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle seem determined to make 
sequestration a reality. Democrats stand ready to work in a bipartisan 
manner to avoid this.
  Yesterday I met with Federal employees and college leaders from 
Michigan who are deeply concerned about how the cuts will affect middle 
class families, students, and senior citizens. Here's sequestration by 
the numbers:
  750,000 jobs eliminated by October;
  20 percent reduction in the Pentagon's operating budget;
  70,000 children kicked out of Head Start;
  21,000 fewer food and drug inspections;
  4 million fewer meals served through the senior nutrition programs.
  We need to find a balanced and responsible approach to reduce our 
deficit, for sure, but not let irrational, across-the-board cuts take 
effect. Doing so will devastate this economic recovery.

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