Rob Andrews: “I thank my friend for yielding. In the summer of 2011, as the country continued to see rising deficits, Members of the…”

“I thank my friend for yielding. In the summer of 2011, as the country continued to see rising deficits, Members of the Congress knew that they had to do something about that in connection with the extension of what we call the debt ceiling, which lets the country borrow money to pay its bills. {time} 1300 As a part of that agreement, a large number of people from both parties voted for something that hasn't turned out very well, and it's called sequestration. This is not something that's just a word that gets tossed around in this Chamber and has political consequences; it is having a real and negative impact on the country. I just came from a hearing of the Armed Services Committee where the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense told us that nine battle groups and three bomber groups of our Air Force and our Navy planes have been grounded. About one-third of the Nation's air capacity isn't flying. Across the country today, people who are on Medicare who need chemotherapy treatments from their doctors' offices are finding that many doctors are declining to do chemotherapy treatments for cancer patients because of the cuts that take place in sequestration. I met earlier this week with employees of the Naval Sea Systems engineering command in Philadelphia, whom I represent. They are looking at a 20 percent pay cut because of furloughs. These are real problems that are affecting real people. The House is opting to do nothing about this--nothing.…”