[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 26, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             SEQUESTRATION

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, we have just 3 days until the sequestration 
cuts take effect. Instead of being here in Washington working to reach 
an agreement, the President is off again on the campaign trail. Giving 
speeches in front of adoring crowds is not going to solve this problem.
  In divided government, we don't reach compromise by talking past each 
other. We come to solutions when we sit down and talk to one another. 
Obviously, we can't do that when the President isn't even here.
  We can find more sensible ways to save billions of dollars. In fact, 
tomorrow I'm chairing an Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee 
hearing looking at innovative solutions to combat waste and fraud in 
Medicare and Medicaid. GAO tells us these programs make $65 billion in 
improper payments. Outside groups tell us it can be a nearly $1 
billion-a-year problem. We can also eliminate wasteful programs like 
the HHS Secretary's duplicative slush fund.
  We must get our spending problem under control, but we'll never get a 
better plan than sequestration if we can't sit down and talk and work 
together.

                          ____________________