John Cornyn: “amid complaints from the White House about the FAA furloughs, we need to keep at least one thing in mind: The sequester…”

“amid complaints from the White House about the FAA furloughs, we need to keep at least one thing in mind: The sequester was President Obama's idea in the first place. His administration created it; he signed it into law on August 2, 2011; and he knew the date it would go into effect. And yet, as the deadline approached, earlier this year the President and his administration traveled the country to stir up anxiety, concern, and fear over the imposition of the sequester, warning that the sky would fall like a modern-day Chicken Little. It has been almost 2 months since the sequester took effect, and the administration's claims that the sky would fall have each proven to be false. First, we had the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan claiming the school teachers were already getting pink slips. But that wasn't true. Then President Obama declared that U.S. Capitol janitors were getting a pay cut. But on further examination, that proved not to be true. Customs and Border Protection initially told their employees-- including border agents--that they might be furloughed. However, a month into the sequester, Customs and Border Protection walked back that claim and decided to make better use of departmental resources. The Director of the National Park Service said the sequester might lead to cancellation of Washington, DC's cherry blossom festival.…”