[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16957]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1220
                      PROTECTING CRITICAL PROGRAMS

  (Mr. SARBANES asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, critical initiatives that help the 
Chesapeake Bay will be among the hardest hit by sequestration. These 
programs, including the Small Watersheds Program, the Clean Water State 
Revolving Fund, and the Section 319 Program, provide much needed 
resources for on-the-ground restoration and conservation efforts in the 
Chesapeake Bay watershed.
  These programs are some of the most important tools we have for 
addressing pollution and storm water runoff in the bay. An 8 percent 
cut would cost thousands of jobs and exacerbate the already crumbling 
public water infrastructure that is so prevalent in Maryland and across 
the country, adding pressure to State and local governments to pay for 
Federal programs that have been slashed. As we all know, the budget 
process is entirely about choices. We must make clean water and clean 
air a priority. I urge my colleagues to protect these critical programs 
from reckless cuts that will destroy jobs and destroy the environment.

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