[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1334]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IT'S TIME TO GET TO WORK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Oregon (Ms. Bonamici) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, today is February 13, but it feels like 
Groundhog Day. Here we are, back again, facing the prospect of 
devastating cuts from sequestration.
  Families in Oregon don't understand why Members of Congress can't 
seem to set aside their differences and get things done; and, frankly, 
neither do I. We don't want to see these devastating cuts go into 
effect. We don't want to see a government shutdown. We don't want to 
tell the children that they have to have even more students in their 
already-crowded classrooms or explain to senior citizens that the Meals 
on Wheels they rely on might not be delivered. We don't want to see 
cuts to food safety or air traffic control or maritime and border 
security.
  We're in the home stretch, racing towards yet another deadline, but 
instead of sitting at the bargaining table, we're headed out for 
recess.
  In Oregon alone, sequestration would kick more than 900 kids out of 
Head Start programs that make a difference in their school readiness. 
It would trigger a 9 percent cut in Federal funding to Oregon's public 
university system, slashing student aid and ongoing research and 
development. Law enforcement agencies throughout the country would lose 
the equivalent of 1,000 Federal agents, 1,300 prison officers, and more 
than 5,000 Border Patrol personnel. Small businesses across the Nation 
would lose more than $540 million in loan guarantees.
  Despite the talk of uncertainty, our economy really is poised to take 
off, but it can't do that if Congress decides to take off from work. 
It's sad but true: The biggest obstacle to economic growth tomorrow is 
congressional foot-dragging today.
  We've been governing by crisis for too long. It's time to rally 
around common sense. It's time to take a seat at the bargaining table. 
And most of all, it's time to get back to work.
  No sequestration deal, no recess.

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