[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1779]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             SEQUESTRATION

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, we are now 2 days away from failure-
triggered, ideologically driven, and irrational budget cuts called 
``sequester.'' It is an extraordinarily bad policy that 229 Republicans 
voted for on July 19, 2011. These cuts could be incredibly harmful to 
our national defense, our economy, and our national welfare.
  General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said:

       This will affect the entire country, and it will undermine 
     our readiness for the next several years.

  Hundreds of thousands of civilian defense personnel could be 
furloughed, and thousands of contractors could be forced to lay off 
critical personnel. Congress should not put our national security or 
economic recovery at risk. If I were the majority leader, this policy 
would not happen.
  House Republicans should listen to Transportation Secretary Ray 
LaHood when he said:

       As a former Republican Member of Congress for 14 years, I 
     urge my former colleagues to address this issue and to work 
     on a long-term, balanced solution to our deficit problem.

  With only 2 days left, it is time for us to come together to find a 
solution that can replace these cuts with a sensible, balanced 
alternative.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would remind Members not to 
traffic the well when others are speaking.

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