WEEK IN REVIEW: US Rep Shea-Porter Works to Stop Sequestration

WASHINGTON, D.C – One week after sequestration began creating reckless and irresponsible cuts to our economy, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter worked to protect New Hampshire’s middle class from its most harmful effects. From meeting with Granite State veterans to cosponsoring legislation that would replace sequestration with a balanced approach, Congresswoman Shea-Porter is committed to working towards saving the hundreds of thousands of jobs and vital services set to be lost due to this reckless policy.

“Instead of imposing indiscriminate cuts on the Department of Defense and other programs vital to middle class security, we should replace sequestration with a balanced approach that increases revenue, decreases spending, and creates jobs,” said Shea-Porter. “I am hopeful that we can compromise to avert these self-inflicted wounds from Washington, but I refuse to accept any plan that fails the test of balance by leaving corporate tax loopholes open and closing the pathway to the middle class.”  

See below for details from the week.

·         Cosponsorship of H.R. 699, the Stop the Sequester Job Loss Now Act

Congresswoman Shea-Porter cosponsored the Stop the Sequester Job Loss Now Act, which eliminates sequestration for calendar year 2013 entirely while reducing the deficit by more than the amount of the scheduled across-the-board spending cuts. It makes specific policy choices that reduce the deficit in a balanced way, with a mix of spending cuts and revenue increases. The bill also calls for a balanced solution to stop the full multi-year sequester.

·         Statement to the House Budget Committee about the impact of sequestration on New Hampshire

Congresswoman Shea-Porter issued a statement to the House Budget Committee about the effects of sequestration on New Hampshire, specifically highlighting the importance of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to the region’s economy and the country’s national defense. She encouraged the committee to replace sequestration’s arbitrary cuts with a balanced plan that responsibly cuts spending and removes unnecessary tax breaks for special interests, saying, “In order to keep our national defense strong, I ask you to restore the budget of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to the funding level that existed prior to implementation of the defense sequester.”

·         Voting Against the Continuing Resolution that, according to the National Journal, “embraced sequestration”

Congresswoman Shea-Porter voted against a Continuing Resolution that reinforces the mindless cuts that will hurt hiring and incomes, slow the recovery, and keep deficits larger than otherwise.

·         Meeting with the New Hampshire Veterans

Congresswoman Shea-Porter met with New Hampshire veterans to talk about the sequester’s impact on our national security. Although the Department of Veterans Affairs is exempt from sequestration, the Department of Labor’s Veterans Transition Assistance Program, which serves over 150,000 veterans a year, would have to reduce operations – leaving thousands of transitioning veterans unserved as they move from active duty to civilian life.  

·         Meeting with Major General William N. Reddel III, The Adjutant General, New Hampshire

Congresswoman Shea-Porter spoke with General Reddel about her commitment to averting sequestration.

·         Cosponsorship of H.R. 900, the Cancel the Sequester Act of 2013

The set of across-the-board cuts passed into law by the previous Congress - of which Shea-Porter was not a member - was purposely designed to be a bad idea and was never intended to become law.  It was supposed to be so unthinkable as to force a compromise – but it failed.  With Congress unable to craft a bipartisan agreement that takes the sequester off the table, Washington has a duty to avert these catastrophic cuts by any means necessary. That is why Congresswoman Shea-Porter cosponsored the “Cancel the Sequester Act,” a one-sentence bill that would repeal the section of the Budget Control Act of 2011 that created the sequester. 

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy created 246,000 private sector jobs in February and unemployment dropped to 7.7%. This is welcome news and continues to build on 36 consecutive months of private sector job growth. But in order to continue this momentum and avoid the 750,000 American jobs set to be lost this year due to sequestration, Congress must do their job and replace these haphazard cuts with a balanced approach that reduces spending and increases revenue.

 

Congresswoman Shea-Porter Votes Against Continuing Resolution that Fails to Address Sequestration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) issued the following statement regarding her vote against a Continuing Resolution that, according to the National Journal, “embraces the sequestration cuts that went into effect last week.”

“This Continuing Resolution will not prevent the irresponsible and economically damaging effects of sequestration which will slow the recovery, cost the economy hundreds of thousands of jobs, and reduce funding for programs critical to the middle class. Furthermore, today’s bill does nothing to prevent the $46 billion sequester for the Department of Defense which will result in civilian furloughs, deployment and training cutbacks, and facility maintenance cuts. What is needed in Washington is not another outdated budget; it’s the will to come together and make the tough decisions about spending and revenues that will strengthen the middle class and grow our economy.”

“It is unfortunate that the Speaker of the House blocked an amendment that responsibly cuts spending, reduces the deficit in a balanced way and avoids the most harmful effects of sequestration.”

“I will continue to fight for a balanced plan to avert sequestration, reduce the deficit and strengthen the middle class.”

ALG's Daily Grind - Sequester better than no cuts at all

Nov. 16, 2012

Sequester better than no cuts at all

If members of Congress disagree with the composition of the cuts, with a $16.24 trillion debt that will climb to $26 trillion by 2022, they should fight for offsetting spending cuts elsewhere in the budget, not cancel sequestration all together.

Cartoon: The Real Love Affair  

The true scandal in Washington, D.C. is revealed.

McMorris-Rodgers ascension spells trouble for IMF European bailout

With Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, now the Republican's chief messenger, battling for stopping the IMF $100 billion blank check, maybe some fiscal sanity will prevail on Capitol Hill.

Twinkie Maker 'Crippled' by Strike to Shut Down, Fire 18,000

The following featured column from Bloomberg Businessweek, highlights the end of Hostess Brand Inc., world-renowned cupcake maker, due to the crippling union strike.

ALG praises defense of sequestration

Oct. 12, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised Rep. Jim Jordan's defense of sequestration on C-Span on Sunday, when he said "the only thing that's worse than cutting national defense is not having any scheduled cuts at all take place":

"A bipartisan effort to repeal sequestration is underway, proving the difficulty that members of both parties in Congress have in restoring order to our nation's fiscal house. We need more leaders like Jim Jordan, who are actually willing to cut the budget on a net basis, and are not afraid to buck the establishment in Washington, D.C.

"Jordan has been a consistent voice in favor of cutting spending now before it is too late. With the $16 trillion debt already larger than the entire economy set to rise to $26 trillion by 2022, we are approaching a point where the debt will become so large it cannot possibly be serviced, let alone repaid. Jordan is one of the only representatives in Congress exhibiting any leadership on this issue.

"Under sequestration, the overall budget would face a $62 billion cut in 2013, it is true, but that is just a 1.6 percent reduction in a single year. Every year after that spending will increase: by $152 billion in 2014, or 4.1 percent, by $214 billion in 2015, or 5.6 percent, and so forth.

"If weak politicians in Washington, D.C. cannot fathom a less-than-2 percent cut to the budget in just one year, how do they ever intend to balance the budget? This is the first small test of whether Congress is serious when they talk about restoring fiscal order."

To view online: http://getliberty.org/alg-praises-defense-of-sequestration/

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Americans for Limited Government is a non-partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms, private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG please call us at 703-383-0880 or visit our website at www.GetLiberty.org.

Frank's Footnotes Newsletter: Putting Washington's Paychecks on the Line

Cutting Washington's Pay: Tying Paychecks to Performance on Sequestration
I wrote last week about the dangerous round of automatic Sequestration spending cuts scheduled to take effect in three months. It would be very harmful to both our military and to New Hampshire’s economy. Experts say the severe reductions would result in the smallest Army since 1940, the smallest Navy since 1916, and the smallest Air Force in our history. As if that wouldn’t be bad enough, the Center for Security Policy estimates nearly 4,000 jobs are on the line right here in New Hampshire. Nationally, over 1 million jobs are in jeopardy. This week, I became a cosponsor of a bill to make sure officials in Washington would suffer if Sequestration happens as scheduled in its current form. I added my name to H.R. 6438, the Member Pay Reduction and Responsibility Act. Simply put, it says that if Congress and the Obama Administration fail to act by the end of this year, they won’t get paid as usual. The paychecks for the President, Vice President and all Senators and Representatives would be reduced equivalent to the Sequester’s percentage cut to non-exempt, non-defense discretionary spending (about 8.2%, as projected in OMB’s recent report). Americans expect their government to responsibly address this important issue. It’s only right that they suffer the consequences if they don’t fulfill that obligation.

	Principle Attraction: Two NH School Principals Visit Capitol Hill
	I had the opportunity to meet with two of New Hampshire’s esteemed educators, Ellen Small, Principal of Iber Holmes Gove Middle School (IHGMS) in Raymond, and David Ryan, Principal of Nashua High School. Both were recently recognized for their dedication to educating Granite State students. In 2011, Iber Holmes Gove Middle School was named New Hampshire’s Middle School of Excellence. This award given by the Excellence in Education Initiative, which acknowledges public schools that excel. Principal Small’s colleagues attribute the school’s success to her strong leadership and constant support of students and teachers. I’m proud of the hard work and dedication Ellen has invested in helping make IHGMS an award-winning school. Principal Ryan was recently named a finalist for the 2013 MetLife/NASSP National High School Principal of the Year. This program recognizes both middle and high schools principals for creating exceptional learning opportunities. I appreciated the chance to speak with Principal Small and Principal Ryan and to discuss ways in which I could support their initiatives and New Hampshire’s public school system. Their work is so important to our school children and we appreciate all of the time and effort they put into their schools.

	Keeping What Works: My Vote to Defend Welfare Work Requirements
	You may have heard about the Obama Administration’s recent efforts to undermine a critical component of welfare. That is why I voted Thursday and helped pass H.J. Res. 118, Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Administration’s July 12, 2012 Waiver of Welfare Work Requirements. This resolution expresses the House’s disapproval of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) memo undermining the bipartisan welfare reform law of 1996 and would prevent the Obama Administration from weakening the law’s federal work requirements. We have seen the many benefits produced by strong work requirements. They help welfare recipients get back on their feet, that’s good for them, good for their community and good our nation. Which is why I want to preserve work requirements. I wish the Obama Administration would, too, because most Granite Staters share the desire to see people shift away from government dependency and into the workforce. As your Congressman, I’m using my vote in the House to defuse the threat of looming tax increases, to cut red tape while limiting the ability of bureaucrats to issue it, and by promoting an economy that is based on free enterprise.

	Our Constitution: 225 Years of Liberty and Freedom
	One of the world’s most amazing documents passed a remarkable milestone this week. Monday was the United States Constitution’s 225th anniversary. Few documents in world history have achieved this longevity. It becomes even more significant when you realize the very same document our Founding Fathers signed back in 1787 is still providing freedom and defending our rights as citizens to this very day. You’ll have a hard time finding other documents from that era that are still in effect today. One of the very first things I did upon entering Congress back in January 2011 was to participate in the bipartisan reading aloud of the U.S. Constitution on the House Floor. (I had the honor of reading the Second Amendment, which guarantees your right to keep and bear arms.) Our Constitution has been amended 27 times over the last 225 years. That is one of the secrets to its success and longevity: because we, the people, have the right to modify and change it as we see fit. Instead of being set in stone, our Constitution has the flexibility to address new needs and concerns while still maintaining and protecting our fundamental rights. As your Congressman, I am committed to making sure all legislation passed by the House, fall within the guidelines of the Constitution.