(WASHINGTON) – Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement after his vote in opposition to H.R. 933, the “Fiscal Year 2013 Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act:”
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| U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. |
“Today, I opposed a flawed government spending bill that fails to make critical investments in our nation’s domestic priorities or stop the devastating across-the-board spending cuts known as ‘sequestration,’” said Conyers.
“By failing to stop sequestration with today’s vote, Congress is callously turning a blind eye to the terrible ramifications of these cuts. Failure to act today is a failure to prevent 600,000 to 775,000 low-income women, infants, and children from losing access to nutritional supplements. It is a failure to protect 100,000 low-income families who will lose their housing vouchers. It is a failure to preserve precious dollars in the unemployment checks of millions of jobless workers.
“Budgets and funding bills are necessary components of the work of any legislative body. But they also serve another purpose: they demonstrate to the world our values, morals, and national priorities. By voting for a bill today that ignores the needs of millions of Americans by funding necessary domestic government programs at levels not seen since the Eisenhower Administration, the vision of America we project to the world today is that of a country that is failing at its most basic tasks.
“Thankfully, there is a way out of this self-inflicted crisis: Congress can simply cancel the sequester. I have introduced a one-sentence bill, H.R. 900, the ‘Cancel the Sequester Act’ which would do just that. The time for debate is over. It is time for Congress to act. It’s time for Congress to protect our constituents from Washington’s dysfunction and cancel the sequester.”
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Excellent position statement by Congressman Conyers on the Sequester, and I agree wholeheartedly. The 'debates' ended up being nothing more than a GOP grandstanding blockade to the end goal, accomplishing nothing and losing time.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the ploy used in football when the clock winds down to zero minutes while the opposing team kneels holding the ball, keeping it out of play and preventing the other team from making any more headway. Game Over.
The Sequester means more than Congress losing the fight against the clock. WE the People lost and the penalty is... this Sequester. We already know the trickle down effect of this - from diminished services to jobs or income reduction. Nobody won.
Thank you Congressman Conyers for cutting to the chase with H.R. 900.
Dianne McNair