VOTE ALERT: Congressman Walden Just Voted In Favor of Sequester

News outlets across the nation have covered the sequester’s impact, and below is a sampling of headlines about the impact.

Greg Walden photo: walden.house.gov

(WASHINGTON DC) - Congressman Greg Walden just voted in favor of the sequester – a series of devastating and arbitrary budget cuts that will eliminate 750,000 jobs, force furloughs and throw a wet blanket on the economy. Instead of the sequester, House Democrats have tried to end taxpayer subsidies for Big Oil companies and tax breaks for millionaires, but Congressman Walden said no.

“The sequester is here and Congressman Greg Walden is one of the few people in the country who thinks it should stay,” said Emily Bittner of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Americans are already seeing job losses, military cutbacks and longer airport lines, but Congressman Walden would rather protect tax breaks for the well-connected than stop the damage to our middle class. The people of Oregon want a balanced solution – but Congressman Walden and his Tea Party extremists said no. There’s now no doubt or debate: Congressman Walden voted in favor of the sequester and was unwilling to stop the worst effects of these disastrous cuts on the people of Oregon because tax breaks for Big Oil companies and millionaires are more important to him.”

Before today, Democrats have offered multiple times balanced alternatives that would replace the arbitrary sequester approach with a thoughtful and balanced budget plan that cuts spending and eliminates tax breaks for the well-connected in a way that is not harmful to the economy. Each time, House Republicans refused to vote on these plans.

News outlets across the nation have covered the sequester’s impact, and below is a sampling of headlines about the impact:

·         General: With cuts, Marine Corps will 'cut into bone' [USA Today, 3/4/13]

·         Sequester already causing long lines at airports, Napolitano says [CBS News, 3/4/13]

·         Former NIH director: The sequester will set back medical science for a generation [Washington Post, 2/21/13]

·         College aid cuts will send parents and students scrounging [Reuters, 3/4/13]

BACKGROUND

Congressman Walden voted against stripping a measure out of the Continuing Resolution that explicitly calls for keeping the indiscriminate cuts of the sequester. [HR 933, Vote #61, 3/06/13]

According to Roll Call newspaper, the Continuing Resolution “Keeps Sequester Cuts in Place” [Roll Call, 3/4/13]

According to the New York Times, “Boehner halts Talks on Cuts, and House G.O.P. Cheers” [New York Times, 3/1/13]

A February 21^st USA Today/Pew poll found 76 percent of Americans favor the a balanced approach for addressing the budget deficit while only 19 percent of Americans agree with the approach of Congressional Republicans, to address the deficit through spending cuts alone. [USA Today, 2/21/13]

House Republicans Previously Voted Three Times to Deny Consideration of Replacing the Entire Sequester with a Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction.

·         The measure was rejected 229-196. [H Res 83, Vote #51, 2/27/13]

·         The measure was rejected 229-194. [H Res 66, Vote #41, 2/14/13]

·         The measure was rejected 229-188. [H Res 48, Vote #33, 2/5/13]