[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2332]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              CRYING WOLF

  (Ms. NORTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, Republicans cry that the President and 
Democrats are crying wolf about sequester cuts and furloughs. But, the 
wolf is already biting. In my hand is a furlough notice from the U.S. 
Attorney for the District of Columbia. In D.C., the U.S. Attorney still 
handles major local crimes for this big city as well as some of the 
most important Federal matters, including terrorism suspects.
  The U.S. Attorney's notice says there will be up to 14 days--that's 2 
weeks--of furlough days for Assistant U.S. Attorneys and other 
personnel. On furlough days, the notice says, Assistant U.S. Attorneys 
and other staff are not permitted to even come to the office to 
volunteer.
  Mr. Speaker, the problem with making sequester a budget rather than a 
prod, as intended, is not the 2 percent sequester cut. It's the 
compression upfront in a short period of time. The American people who 
depend on U.S. Attorneys deserve better than a deliberate and avoidable 
public safety furlough.

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