Alan Lowenthal: “Unless we do something, Friday will be a day that none of us want to see but that very few of us seem to have the…”

“Unless we do something, Friday will be a day that none of us want to see but that very few of us seem to have the courage or conviction to prevent. Today, we stand here with two options: devastating, meat-cleaver cuts or political courage. Last week in my district I met with the leadership of the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base. California military cuts of almost $70 million would put this base at risk. Who are we talking about? These are our first responders, our firefighters, our citizen soldiers. These are the people that will be affected by sequestration. If we must choose between cuts or political courage, I choose political courage. We must come together to do what is right. I ask for a balanced approach to deficit reduction that eliminates sequestration. I support Congressman Van Hollen's bill, H.R. 699, and I ask unanimous consent to bring this bill to the floor. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the guidelines consistently issued by successive Speakers, as recorded on page 752 of the House Rules Manual, the Chair is constrained not to entertain the gentleman's request unless it has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leaderships. ____________________”