On the recordJuly 23, 2013
I want to thank Representatives Lamborn, Barrow, and Jenkins for their bipartisan work on this amendment. Mr. Chairman, we obviously need a comprehensive solution to the sequester. Ideally, that's what we would be doing. I don't want to proceed in a piecemeal manner, but absent a comprehensive solution, I think we have an obligation to act to ease the pain of the sequester when and where we can. At Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, 11,000 Department of Defense civilian employees are furloughed for 11 days, which is a 20 percent pay cut for the remainder of this year. These workers are essential. Many of them work at Beaumont Army Medical Center, where they care for our wounded warriors returning from war. Those wounded soldiers are now facing longer wait times and reduced care because of these furloughs, and it is already becoming harder to retain the best employees. We have to do better both by our servicemembers and those civilian employees, who are so critical to our military. I urge all of my colleagues to help prevent more furloughs and to support this amendment.
