[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   THE REAL VICTIMS OF SEQUESTRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, we just heard a terrible cry 
on behalf of the wealthy in the United States, that top 2 percent. Tax 
them, and it will kill jobs, put people out of work.
  If you want to know the real victims of sequestration, the real 
victims of the Republican fight to protect that 2 percent at all costs, 
it's the homeless, it's the poor, it's the lower income, and it's the 
vulnerable amongst us.
  Most of the debate up until now about the fiscal cliff has focused on 
defense cuts and expiring tax cuts justifiably, but the ramifications 
for local safety nets are equally portentous. In my district, for 
example, Fairfax County recently kicked off its annual hypothermia 
prevention program. During my tenure on the county board, I worked with 
faith, business, and community leaders to open houses of worship and 
other places to offer shelter from the cold and a hot meal for the 
homeless, individuals, and families. It saves lives.
  Last winter, the program served more than 1,000 clients in one of the 
wealthiest districts in the United States. Sequestration threatens 
support for this and other Federal homeless prevention efforts. The 
McKinney-Vento homeless prevention program would be cut by as much as 
$156 million. You didn't hear anything about that just now.

                              {time}  1020

  And it would leave more than 145,000 more people out in the cold and 
at risk of dying from hypothermia.
  Similarly, families in every State rely on low-income heating 
assistance, which stands to lose as much as $270 million in 
sequestration. That may not seem like much, but that program has 
already been cut by the Republicans by 30 percent. Millions of 
Americans in every State rely on this support, including 145,000 in my 
home State of Virginia.
  The picture gets even worse when you look at the looming cuts to 
Federal housing assistance. Programs like the Community Development 
Block Grants, section 8 housing, and rental assistance for the needy 
and senior citizens already have sustained dramatic cuts over the last 
2 years under Republican control. The HOME Investment Partnership 
Program, which supports homeownership and rental assistance, was cut by 
more than $600 million, or 38 percent, last year alone. It faces 
another $82 million cut in sequestration. Prince William County, in my 
district, was one of the hardest-hit by foreclosures, and it has an 
acute shortage of affordable housing right now. Cuts in Federal housing 
support would further exacerbate that situation just as the local 
housing market is beginning to recover.
  There is an old proverb about someone always getting ``left out in 
the cold,'' but in this case, people literally will be left out in the 
cold if we allow sequestration to go forward.
  Mr. Speaker, the cuts in housing assistance are just one piece of the 
local safety net threatened by sequestration. I recently met with the 
disability community in my district, and they, too, are anxious about 
losing the vital support that allows disabled loved ones to live 
independently. One local organization, for example, is providing work 
opportunities and rehabilitative services to more than 650 disabled 
adults in our community. Whether it's performing custodial services, 
packing medical kits for our troops, working in food services or other 
duties, these Ability One workers are making a positive difference in 
providing autonomy for individuals in our community. I and many of my 
colleagues here in the House, both Democrats and Republicans, are 
Ability One champions, and we know firsthand the positive effect this 
program has had, not only on the individuals, but on their families and 
their friends.
  Employment opportunities for the disabled and revenue from their work 
reached an all-time high last year, but that momentum is at risk 
because of looming cuts through sequestration. Community service 
boards, for example, could lose as much as $52 million, which would 
reduce services for more than 1.5 million people in America. You heard 
my colleague talk about maybe a few hundred thousand jobs being at risk 
if we cut taxes for the rich. What about these people? What about the 
real cuts and real effects on real people in America?
  What has been troubling to the residents of my district is the fact 
that, up until now, the Republican alternative to these cuts has been 
to shift even more of the burden, not less, onto the social safety net 
programs. The sequestration replacement bill, which was pushed through 
earlier by House Republicans, cuts $261 billion from safety net 
programs. It eliminates social service block grants, which support 
Meals on Wheels for 1.7 million seniors. Where is the concern for that? 
It also provides child care assistance for low-income parents who are 
returning to work. That plan cut $36 billion in nutrition assistance 
for at-risk families. In my district, the demand for nutrition 
assistance has jumped by 135 percent since the recession, and it has 
gone up by 73 percent in the Commonwealth of Virginia during that same 
time period.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford to turn our backs on these families. 
Sequestration is a real threat. We need to have a compromise and a deal 
now to help these families.

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