[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 97 (Wednesday, June 17, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S4218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             SEQUESTRATION

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this morning the majority leader and the 
Republican leader Senator McConnell came to the floor to speak to us 
about the challenge we are going to face, as soon as this week, when it 
comes to the Department of Defense. This is a department I have paid 
special attention to over the last several years during the time I 
chaired the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and now serve as 
ranking member or vice chairman of that same subcommittee.
  First, I salute the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and 
Defense Subcommittee, Thad Cochran of Mississippi. It has been a joy to 
work with him. He is a professional. He is a kind and gentle man and 
fair in every respect. I told him on the floor yesterday what I have 
said publicly in my caucus luncheon, the Democratic caucus luncheon. I 
am fortunate to have a partner in this effort from the Republican side 
who is so good to work with.
  But we face a real serious challenge this week, and we have to decide 
as a nation what we are going to do about it. Most people, if you ask 
them on a final exam what does sequestration mean, they would basically 
throw up their hands and say: It sounds like something out of 
Washington. It doesn't mean much to me.
  Sequestration is the penalty we face if we don't hit certain budget 
spending numbers, and that penalty is virtually mindless. Here is what 
it says: We will make across-the-board cuts in spending. Think about 
that in your own family life. If you were looking at the budget for 
your family and had some misfortune--a paycheck didn't come in--you 
would have to gauge priorities. While sitting at the kitchen table, you 
might say: What do we have to pay this month? Well, we have to pay the 
mortgage or we will be foreclosed upon. We better pay the light bill or 
they will turn off the electricity. So what can we cut back on? We are 
going to spend less at the grocery store.
  Families make those decisions--many of them--on a weekly or monthly 
basis. But sequestration says we will cut across the board. We will 
take a 5-percent cut off the mortgage, off the utility bill, and off 
the groceries. It doesn't make sense, does it? But we did it. We did it 
for 2 years, and it was devastating.
  We cut across the board when it came to medical research, for 
goodness' sakes. Here we were trying to find cures for cancer and heart 
disease and diabetes and Alzheimer's, and we said we are going to make 
a 5-percent cut across the board. It made no sense whatsoever, nor did 
it make sense for the Department of Defense. They said: How in the 
world can we prepare for America's defense with across-the-board cuts? 
We are supposed to be recruiting and training the very best men and 
women to serve our Nation. They need to be ready for combat. We have to 
make them battle-ready so they will win any battle they are sent to and 
come home safe. We have to decide what equipment to purchase. We have 
to decide how to invest in long-term investments in technology and 
equipment so that we never come in second in any battle. Yet you are 
going to give us an across-the-board cut, Congress? Stop it. Stop 
sequestration.
  That is what this debate is about.
  What we have now is a proposal from the Republican side of the aisle 
to stop sequestration--across-the-board cuts--in only one Agency: the 
Department of Defense. I think that is a good thing, to stop it, but it 
certainly isn't a balanced approach.
  We have a lot of other things we do as a government that are 
important to the people of this country. We finance the education of 
young people who want to go to college. We do it with Pell grants and 
we do it with government loans. If we make across-the-board cuts there, 
we will create hardships and lack of opportunity for a lot of young 
people in America. When it comes to education, sequestration makes no 
sense.
  When it comes to health care, it certainly makes no sense. We have 
obligations that we have entered into when it comes to our veterans and 
their health care. Are we going to make across-the-board cuts when it 
comes to veterans' health care? God forbid. We promised those men and 
women that if they would serve our country, we would stand by them when 
they came home.
  Sequestration is a mindless cut when it comes to education and health 
care and medical research, as I mentioned earlier. So Democrats are 
saying to Republicans: Here we are on June 17, and our fiscal year ends 
on October 1. Let's not wait until the last minute to sit down and work 
out this problem. But what we hear from the other side of the aisle is 
this: We are not going to do it. We are just going to ignore it.
  That is the problem in Washington when you don't face challenges 
squarely, honestly, on a bipartisan basis.
  So here is what is likely to occur this week. We are going to vote 
for an authorization bill on the Department of Defense. Some of us will 
oppose the way it is being funded, but others will vote for it. Then we 
will come to the Defense appropriations bill, and I think what you will 
find is a unified effort on the Democratic side to say to the 
Republicans: Now is the time to sit down, not just on this 
appropriations bill but all the appropriations bills. Let's come up 
with an answer and solution to sequestration.
  I heard the Republican leader say: Well, this is an indication that 
the Democrats are not committed to the defense of America. I couldn't 
disagree more because, you see, when we look at those who agree with us 
on the need for a different approach to budgeting, they include our 
Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs 
of Staff, General Dempsey. These are the men who have been assigned the 
responsibility of leading this great military and keeping America safe, 
and they say this budget process which the Republican leader endorses 
is not a good one for the safety of America.
  So let's do the right thing for the men and women in uniform, for our 
country, and for all the agencies of government. Let's sit down and 
solve this budget challenge now before it reaches the last minute in a 
crisis. Let's do it in June rather than in September, October, 
November, or December. Let's do it calmly, on a bipartisan basis, and 
engage the President as well as our colleagues from both sides of the 
aisle in Congress. That is the responsible, bipartisan, honest way to 
face the problem. I hope the Republican leader will join us in that 
effort.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.

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