[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 1776-1777]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             SEQUESTRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Payne) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I stand here today in absolute 
disappointment with this body and the total lack of Republican 
leadership. I can't even begin to express the disappointment I have 
with the GOP leaders who choose to play a game of chicken rather than 
do something to save 2 million American jobs.
  After more than 20 years of watching my father serve the 10th 
Congressional District of New Jersey, the district that he loved, I 
came here to Washington to do the same. I came down here to get to 
work, to dig in, to get my hands dirty, and to help resolve the 
pressing issues that will ruin this country if ignored.
  As we speak, people are terrified; and if they aren't terrified, it's 
because they've stopped listening to the partisan bickering. But make 
no mistake, these cuts will be unimaginable to people across the 
country and to people across New Jersey's 10th Congressional District.
  So I ask my colleagues: why are we here again? Why? We've played this 
game before, heard this tune, danced this oppressing musical number 
before. It's like I'm Bill Murray in the movie ``Groundhog Day,'' where 
every morning I wake up hoping it is a new day, and every morning I 
wake up to the same maddening song. It's the song of a failed 
Republican leadership doing absolutely nothing--nothing all over again.
  Talk about a do-nothing Congress. The 112th Congress passed just 283 
bills, and 22 percent of them were bills to name post offices, 
courthouses, and other projects. So when you break it down, Congress 
really only voted to pass two bills a week--two bills a week. We can do 
better than this, but we need to work together.
  When I speak to my fellow Democrat Members, there is a frustration. 
They are frustrated because we've seen the pain and fear in the people 
we speak to back home. There's frustration because we are ready to 
work. That's why I was sent here. That's what I was sent here to do.
  So let's stop the nonsense and let's get to work. The effects of 
sequestration are real. Maybe people don't understand what the word 
``sequestration'' means, but when they start to lose vital services 
that they need to live, it is going to devastate working families, the 
middle class, and the vulnerable in my district.
  In New Jersey alone, more than 40,000 people could lose their jobs. 
New Jersey will lose $17 million in funding for teachers, aids, and 
staff who help disabled children. Thirteen hundred children in New 
Jersey will be cut from Head Start. Eleven thousand civilian Department 
of Defense employees will be furloughed. Senior Meals on Wheels 
programs will lose nearly half a million in funding in New Jersey, 
possibly the only meal they have for the day. And funds will be slashed 
for victims of domestic violence, resulting in 700 victims not 
receiving the care that they need to survive.
  Right now, Democrats have a plan on the table that will stop 
sequestration and start reducing the deficit in a balanced way. It's a 
plan that cuts spending responsibly, closes corporate tax loopholes, 
protects the most vulnerable, and ensures millionaires pay their fair 
share. And you know what? More than 76 percent of the American people 
support a balanced plan.

[[Page 1777]]

  Including today, we have 3 days to go; and with $85 billion in 
automatic deep spending cuts on the chopping block, it's time for 
Washington to stop playing games, stop pointing fingers and do what's 
right by the American people. That's what the American people expect, 
and, quite frankly, that's what they deserve.
  Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring H.R. 699, the Stop 
the Sequester Job Loss Now Act, to the floor.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 3, 2013, the House is in session solely for the purpose of 
conducting morning-hour debate. Therefore, the gentleman's request 
cannot be entertained.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I'm deeply saddened for the American people 
that we are unable to bring this bill to the floor and stop the loss of 
2 million American jobs.

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