[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 29 (Thursday, February 28, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       VOICING SEQUESTER CONCERNS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN K. DELANEY

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 28, 2013

  Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, the sequester is bad way to deal with 
deficit reduction and will likely have a negative effect on our 
economy, particularly Maryland's economy, which I have been saying for 
years is unusually vulnerable to reductions in government spending. We 
are faced with the sequester because our government has failed to act 
in a bi-partisan way for the good of the country. The cost of doing 
nothing is not nothing. Because we failed to take the necessary steps 
to deal with our deficit in a balanced way--and because special 
interests were uncompromising in the face of any proposals that 
affected them--we find ourselves facing a mini-doomsday machine in the 
sequester.
  Unless Congress acts, sequestration would have a serious and 
disproportionate impact on job creation and economic growth in 
Maryland. The 60 non-military federal facilities and 17 military 
facilities in Maryland would see their ability to conduct operations 
significantly erode; nearly 140,000 federal civilian employees who work 
in Maryland would face furloughs and potential pay cuts; and thousands 
of jobs in Maryland would be put at risk. Our students, small 
businesses, families, and first-responders would also be affected by 
devastating cuts to investments in education, law enforcement, 
infrastructure, innovation, research, and other areas that are critical 
to building a strong middle class.
  Our focus should be on avoiding the sequester and passing a grand 
budget deal along the lines of Simpson-Bowles that reduces the deficit 
in a balanced way. We should do our job, which is to come together, 
negotiate in good faith, and find a solution.

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