Congressman Canseco's Statement on House Passage of Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 (H.R. 5872)

Statement

Congressman Francisco "Quico" Canseco (TX-23), a strong supporter of keeping America's defenses strong, issued the following statement after the House of Representatives voted 414-2 to pass on a bipartisan basis the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 (H.R. 5872):

"Due to the across-the-board spending cuts, or sequester, called for in current law, our nation's defense budget is facing a looming 10% cut in January 2013. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said that such a cut to our nation's defense spending "will do real damage to our security, our troops and their families, and our military's ability to protect the nation.' That's why earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed legislation to replace these arbitrary, across-the-board cuts with targeted spending reductions and other common sense reforms that still achieve the necessary savings, but without putting national priorities -- like our nation's defense -- at risk. Unfortunately, neither President Obama or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has joined with the House of Representatives in trying to replace the sequester and prevent its damaging effects. In fact, Senator Harry Reid has said, "I'm not going to back off sequestration.'"

"The American people have a right to know how the Obama Administration would implement the looming sequester. That's why the House of Representatives has passed the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, which calls for the Obama Administration to specify how it would implement the 10% cut to defense spending and the 8% cut to non-defense discretionary spending. While this is not a bill to stop sequestration, it is an important piece of legislation that seeks to provide some clarity for the thousands of businesses and military personnel who will be affected if sequestration cuts take place in January," concluded Congressman Canseco.

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