[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12851]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
                      LET'S TURN OFF THE SEQUESTER

  (Ms. HANABUSA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, a word not much known about 2 years ago 
now is a household word. It is ``to sequester,'' a verb, and 
``sequestration,'' a noun.
  Today, in the Armed Services Committee, we heard the Republican chair 
and the Democratic ranking member state in almost unison, Sequestration 
must end. It is a threat to our great Nation's readiness posture, 
affects jobs, and the manufacturing base.
  DOD alone has 800,000 civilian employees. It is not only defense 
that's being affected. It is all of the discretionary budget. CBO 
estimates it will cost about 750,000 jobs this year alone. We saw it 
earlier this year with the FAA.
  We will see how the U.S. Forest Service is affected by 500 
firefighters that are lost, 50 to 70 fire engines, and two aircraft.
  We will also see 70,000 children lose access to Head Start.
  What will it take to turn it off, to quote our HASC ranking member?
  We all agree it was not meant to be. It's a mistake. Mr. Speaker, 
let's turn it off.

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