On the recordFebruary 4, 2013
Yesterday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta bluntly warned if sequester happens on March 1 it's going to badly damage the readiness of the United States of America. It will go right at readiness, right at maintenance, right at training. The Navy has told us too it will cancel maintenance on 23 ships, reduce flying hours on deployed aircraft carriers by 55 percent, cancel submarine deployments, and reduce steaming days by 22 percent. The Bipartisan Policy Center has warned us that 1 million jobs will be lost if sequester happens. What is the response of the majority party? The Budget chair, Mr. Ryan, simply said, ``Sequester is going to happen. We can't afford to lose those cuts.'' For the sake of our economy, for the sake of our national defense, we have to do better than that. Congress must adopt the President's balanced plan and avoid the economic and military calamity, a calamity that can easily be avoided. ____________________
