[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 27, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H686-H687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THE SEQUESTER

  (Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico asked and was given 
permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend 
her remarks.)
  Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico. Time is short, Mr. Speaker. 
March 1 is just a few hours away, and the Republicans refuse to bring 
forward a balanced plan to replace the meat-ax approach to governing 
known as sequestration.
  My constituents have been clear with me: We should stop the blame 
game, and we must stop this sequester from happening. New Mexicans are 
worried. They know what happens if we don't stop the sequester:
  More than 750,000 jobs are at risk just this year.
  Almost 10,000 New Mexicans won't be able to get the help and skills 
they need to find a job.
  Small businesses, the backbone of our economy, won't be able to get 
the loans that they need to expand and grow.
  Just in New Mexico, almost 7,000 civilian furloughs from the Defense 
Department, resulting in $42 million less in gross pay for those 
employees, forcing middle class families to deal with losses equal to 
one mortgage payment or more.
  Lastly, one of my State's and district's largest employers, Sandia 
National Laboratories, has implemented a

[[Page H687]]

hiring freeze. This move will stunt economic growth and be devastating 
to New Mexico's economy.
  I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 699, a balanced bill to 
replace the sequester with spending cuts and revenue.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. As the Chair previously advised, that 
request cannot be entertained absent appropriate clearance.

                          ____________________