[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 103 (Thursday, July 18, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H4608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
                SEQUESTRATION THREATENING PUBLIC SAFETY

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, sequester furloughs have recently begun for 
hundreds of thousands of civilian Department of Defense employees. We 
know budget sequestration is a bad policy. It's an ax where we need a 
scalpel. It's hurting families and workers across the country, and it's 
threatening public safety. For example, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in 
my congressional district, firefighters are being furloughed and budget 
cuts may lead to the elimination of its elite Hot Shot crew.
  Vandenberg Air Force Base is a high-risk fire area, and this year's 
fire season started early, is expected to be worse than previous years, 
and has already produced the deadliest single incident for firefighters 
since 9/11. We should not be furloughing firefighters in the middle of 
fire season. We should not be compromising public safety.
  I urge my colleagues to put aside our differences and get to work to 
find an alternative to these furloughs and end sequestration at every 
level once and for all.

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