[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4935]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             SEQUESTRATION

  (Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, sequestration has been in effect for 41 
days, and already it is hurting American families. Just outside my 
district at Fort Knox, more than 5,000 civilian employees face at least 
2 weeks of furlough because of these indiscriminate cuts in Federal 
spending.
  A constituent of mine whose husband is a military technician for the 
Kentucky National Guard said her family will lose close to 20 percent 
of their income because of furloughs. He is one of at least 460 
technicians in my district who will be furloughed.
  I've talked with a school principal who's forced to lay off special 
education teachers because of sequestration. I've met with local social 
service organizations who are concerned that sequestration will 
eliminate entire Federal grant programs, jeopardizing jobs and 
essential services for Louisville families. And officials at the 
University of Louisville are worried that cuts to their research will 
interrupt lifesaving medical advances.
  Mr. Speaker, sequestration was a threat, not a policy. That's why I 
voted against it. It now is clear that the real threat of sequestration 
is to middle class families who can least afford another recession. 
Congress should enact a budget that eliminates sequestration and spares 
even more American families the pain of this ill-advised austerity.

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