[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 26, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H634-H635]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             SEQUESTRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. The gentleman from Tennessee who just spoke said 
that sequestration is a game of scare tactics. Apparently, he hasn't 
looked at the statistics from his district in Tennessee. Let me tell 
you, sequestration is not only going to affect the people of my 
district, but it's going to affect the people of his district and his 
State as well.
  Sequestration is very troubling, Mr. Speaker. Sensible people all 
across America are beginning to see the impact that sequestration will 
have on their families. We are hearing from Governors every day, both 
Democrat and Republican. We cannot wait any longer. We have delayed 
this for far too long. The consequences of an unbalanced budget are 
very, very clear.
  My home State of North Carolina already has one of the highest rates 
of unemployment at 9 percent; and these cuts, Mr. Speaker, to 
education, health care, low-income families, and military readiness 
around my State and country will be disastrous to so many.
  Our children are our most valuable asset, and ensuring they earn a 
quality education is the best investment we can make in our future. 
Unfortunately, the sequester threatens many children's chances at 
obtaining a quality education.
  The impacts of sequester in my State of North Carolina are huge. 
Teachers and schools in North Carolina will lose more than $25 million 
in funding for primary and secondary education, putting 350 teachers 
and teacher aide jobs at risk, resulting in 40,000 fewer students 
receiving services they need to help them do well in school. Programs 
like Head Start and Early Head Start--services that residents in my 
district so desperately need--will be eliminated for 1,500 children, 
reducing access to critical early education programs that teach the 
skills necessary to enter kindergarten on an equal footing.
  If America, Mr. Speaker, is to continue to be a global leader, we 
must out-compete other nations in the classroom by improving the 
caliber of teachers, promoting school grants, increasing education 
standards, and utilizing up-to-date technology to prepare students for 
the higher education and jobs of the future. However, educational 
advances will only result if our schools are properly funded. Don't cut 
education.

[[Page H635]]

  The American people must know that the sequester's reach stretches to 
health care research and innovation. Hospitals around the country and 
those in my district, like Duke University Medical Center, serve an 
invaluable role in the community to not only care for those who are 
sick, but to research and find cures for critical diseases such as 
cancer, diabetes, and heart disease--curable diseases that kill people 
every day. Don't let this happen.
  The across-the-board cuts would sever funding for research from 
organizations like the National Institutes of Health. Scientists at 
universities across my district, like at Duke University and East 
Carolina University, would not have the chance to discover 
groundbreaking medical advancements such as the one that earned Duke 
University's Dr. Robert Leftkowitz the 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
  Many citizens in my district are low-income families who are 
currently surviving with assistance from critical antipoverty programs 
like unemployment benefits, SNAP, and WIC. Low- and middle-income 
families will bear the brunt of the pain from this sequester. These 
people deserve programs that provide relief from financial hardships. 
However, if Congress does not work together to prevent sequestration 
this week, these programs will lose very significant portions of their 
budgets.
  North Carolina has an enormous military presence; the sequester will 
be felt especially hard by our men and women in uniform and the 
civilians that support military operations. Seymour Johnson Air Force 
Base, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and U.S. Coast Guard Air 
Station Elizabeth City, among others, will not be ready to defend and 
serve our country at a moment's notice if we allow this to happen.
  In my State alone, cuts to the Department of Defense budget will 
result in 22,000 civilian DOD staff being furloughed, reducing the 
gross pay by $117 million. Base operation funding would be cut by $136 
million, severely reducing military readiness, putting our country at 
peril.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I implore my colleagues to work together to 
prevent the impending sequestration so that we may prevent devastating 
cuts to our vital infrastructure. We are slowly but surely building on 
economic recovery, and our Nation can literally not afford to be 
knocked down again by an inability to compromise. Please, let's get it 
done.

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