On the recordSeptember 19, 2013
I thank my friend, the ranking member of the Rules Committee. Mr. Speaker, it is simply reckless for our Republican colleagues to say they will shut down the United States Government unless we shut down the Affordable Care Act, a law which is already providing protections to millions of children in this country who have preexisting conditions-- like asthma, like pediatric cancer, like diabetes--and to millions of seniors on Medicare who have high drug costs; but what's also irresponsible and undemocratic is that the Republican majority has refused to allow us even a vote on a plan to replace the sequester. Now, what's the sequester? The sequester is Washington speak for a job-killing mechanism. It's meat-ax, immediate, across-the-board cuts that are doing damage to our economy. You don't have to take my word for it. The independent, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which is the referee around here, says that, at this time next year, we could have up to 1.6 million fewer jobs in this country as a result of that sequester. By this time next year, we could see economic growth cut in half as a result of the sequester. Look, the good news is the economy is growing, and the bad news is that it's growing very slowly. The last thing the American people need is a self-inflicted wound by this Congress that slows down the economy and puts fewer people back to work, but that's what the sequester does.…
