[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 32 (Wednesday, March 6, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CANCEL THE SEQUESTER ACT OF 2013

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 6, 2013

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to raise my voice against the 
set of across-the-board cuts--known as ``the sequester''--currently 
taking effect across the country.
  These devastating cuts are unique among American public policies for 
a simple reason: they were purposefully designed to be a bad idea.
  During the debt ceiling standoff of 2011, the ``sequester'' was 
designed as a default option so revolting to both Democrats and 
Republicans that it would force the bipartisan ``Super Committee'' to 
adopt a workable budget plan. While that Committee failed at this 
objective, the American people have been left to pay the price.
  The sequester, if fully implemented, will put more than 2 million 
jobs at risk--more than half of which are associated with small 
businesses:
  The sequester will also create tremendous uncertainty in financial 
markets and among consumers, ultimately contributing to an estimated 
one-half of one percent drag on economic growth this year;
  These cuts will also undermine military readiness, educational 
quality, and research output while leaving us with longer airport 
security lines, more untreated mental illnesses, more hunger, more 
homelessness, and fewer federal criminal prosecutions.
  It should come as no surprise that, according to a Wall Street 
Journal/NBC News Poll, Americans oppose the sequester by a more than 2-
to-1 margin.
  If Congress is unable to craft a bipartisan agreement that takes 
sequestration off the table, this body has a duty to avert these 
catastrophic cuts by any means necessary. This is why I introduced the 
``Cancel the Sequester Act,'' a one-sentence bill that would repeal the 
section of the Budget Control Act of 2011 that created these senseless, 
job-destroying cuts.
  Please consider cosponsoring the ``Cancel the Sequester Act,'' so 
that we can prevent Washington's dysfunction from inflicting further 
harm on the American people.

                          ____________________