DeLauro Continues Fight against Needlessly Harmful Budget Cuts

Offers Alternative to Sequester Cuts in AppropriationsMarkup

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) todaycontinued her efforts to prevent the indiscriminate, deeply harmful budget cutsknown as sequestration from inflicting further hardship on American families.At an Appropriations Committee meeting DeLauro offered an amendment to theMilitary Construction-Veterans Affairs funding bill that would replace the cutsfor fiscal years 2013 and 2014 with a more balanced, targeted, and common-senseapproach.

"These across-the-board cuts are not responsible budgeting.We should be taking a balanced approach. Unemployment is unacceptably high anddeficit estimates have decreased dramatically – by $200 billion in the lastthree months alone. If we allow these cuts to remain in effect, we will becausing more job losses, less economic growth, and less deficit reduction.

"That is not the right way forward; the amendment I offeredtoday is. Instead of dramatically slashing vital programs like HeadStart, Meals on Wheels and medical research—which are already being cut—itrepeals oil and gas subsidies at a time of extraordinary profits. Instead ofhurting small businesses and the most vulnerable families in America, it takessteps to ensure that millionaires are paying the same effective tax rate ashard-working middle-class families. And furthermore it cuts roughly $30 billionmore from the deficit. I will continue pushing my colleagues to adopt aresponsible approach to budgeting and spare the the families who are alreadystruggling to get by."

DeLauro also spoke out against the proposed funding levelfor the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education departments. TheMajority approved an unprecedented 22 percent cut in the budget for thosedepartments today. She is the senior Democrat on the subcommittee responsiblefor funding those departments and hascalled on Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers to schedule a markupof that bill before Memorial Day.

"The Majority has made a conscious decision to cut moneyfrom core priorities like job training, education and health care. Not only arethey accepting the sequestration cuts for this year, they are multiplying itfour-fold for 2014. My Republican colleagues should stand up and defend thosecuts before the American public. But they know these choices are not just badpolicy, they will inflict untold pain on families nationwide. Chairman Rogersshould schedule an open debate expeditiously so that it is clear just where mycolleagues stand on these important issues."