[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11570]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             SEQUESTRATION

  (Mr. HECK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HECK. Madam Speaker, I come to the floor today to call on the 
administration to inform the American people how they intend to 
implement the sequester cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act. With 
the failure of the supercommittee, we now face defense cuts that 
everyone agrees are far too steep. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta 
has said that cutting military spending by an additional $500 billion 
``would do real damage to our security, our troops and their families, 
and our military's ability to protect the Nation.''
  Cuts of this nature would result in us having the smallest ground 
force since World War II, the smallest Navy since World War I, and the 
smallest tactical Air Force since the Air Force was created in 1948.
  Independent economists have testified before the House Armed Services 
Committee that these cuts will cause massive job losses, including as 
many as 4,000 in my State of Nevada, which already suffers from the 
highest unemployment rate in the Nation.
  The House has passed a plan to replace these devastating cuts, 
maintain national security, and prevent job losses. Today, I urge the 
administration to outline its plan for addressing this situation.

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