[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1672]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             SEQUESTRATION

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, there's no doubt that we need to reduce 
the size of our deficit, but we have to do it in a responsible way and 
a way that protects American families. We need to do it in a balanced, 
forward-thinking way that protects our fragile recovery, continues 
growing jobs for middle class families, and invests in our long-term 
economic future.
  Sequestration isn't a solution. It's a penalty that will put our 
recovery in jeopardy and hurt working men and women in my home State of 
Rhode Island and all across this country.
  In the last few weeks, we've seen Members of this Chamber wringing 
their hands and pointing fingers in order to avoid blame for 
sequestration. It's time to focus on solutions.
  Our colleague, Mr. Van Hollen, has offered a proposal that will 
replace the meat-ax of sequestration with precise, carefully considered 
changes by enacting responsible cuts in spending, repealing subsidies 
to big oil companies, implementing the Buffett rule so middle class 
families don't pay a higher tax rate than millionaires and 
billionaires, and preserving the Medicare guarantee for our seniors.
  After so much conflict and division, let's work together to find an 
alternative that works for middle class families.

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