Julia Brownley: “This Friday, the U.S. budget faces a round of indiscriminate and severe cuts that will hurt the middle class, compromise…”

“This Friday, the U.S. budget faces a round of indiscriminate and severe cuts that will hurt the middle class, compromise national security, and set back our very fragile economic recovery. I call on all of our colleagues to take immediate action to avert the sequester to prevent $1.5 trillion in reckless, unnecessary, across- the-board cuts. If we fail, my families and businesses in Ventura County will pay the price. Naval Base Ventura County in my district could be forced to furlough 80 percent of its civilian workers. Our seniors and our children could be severely impacted through cuts to Medicare, Head Start programs, and teachers' jobs. We need to stop these arbitrary and reckless cuts now and pass a balanced approach with H.R. 699. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring H.R. 699 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 gentlewoman's request unless it has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leaderships. ____________________”