[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16655-16656]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           DEFENSE CUTS INCREASING UNEMPLOYMENT BY 1 PERCENT

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, Defense Secretary Leon 
Panetta recently warned Congress that if the deficit reduction process 
does not succeed, the Department of Defense

[[Page 16656]]

could be cut by $1 trillion. These cuts will threaten the effectiveness 
of the world's greatest Armed Forces which provide peace through 
strength. According to Secretary Panetta, these cuts would increase 
America's unemployment rate by 1 percent, nearly 1.5 million workers. 
Drastic cuts will limit advanced equipment that is essential to protect 
our servicemembers who are defeating terrorists overseas.
  For the United States to successfully continue to protect its 
families, Congress should not further cut the defense budget, which 
destroys jobs and undermines our manufacturing base. Yesterday in Roll 
Call, Army Secretary John McHugh, our former colleague, advised, ``We 
can't break faith with the men and women who fought for us during the 
past decade.''
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th in the global war on terrorism.

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