Letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner - Impacts of Sequester

Letter

Congressman Pete Gallego (TX-23) wrote a letter to Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor expressing the deep concerns for the potential sequestration impacts to military bases in Texas. Congressmen Joaquin Castro, Henry Cuellar, Gene Green, Beto O'Rourke, Marc Veasey Filemon Vela, as well as Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson also signed on to the letter.

The Representatives in the letter state, "As lawmakers, it is our fundamental duty to ensure our troops, military families, and military bases do not bear the brunt of these blunt and thoughtless spending cuts…Let's come to the table and work to avert these dire consequences to the men and women who serve in Texas for our country. We welcome the opportunity for bipartisan conversation to work towards a common-sense, common-ground solution to address the sequestration cuts."

Given that Texas is among the states that could feel the biggest sting from the cuts to the Department of Defense, the Representatives are urging the need to come together to address the cuts and the dire consequences to the men and women who server our country in Texas.

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The full text is included below for your reference.

March 8, 2013

The Honorable John Boehner The Honorable Eric Cantor
Speaker Majority Leader
United States House of Representatives United States House of Representatives
H-232 The Capitol H-329, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515

Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor:

We write to you today to convey our concerns for the potential sequestration impacts to military bases in Texas- including the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as the furloughs of defense employees. As you are well aware the draconian automatic, across-the-board-cuts officially took effect March 1. This threatens our national security, military personnel and bases, especially in Texas. As lawmakers, it is our fundamental duty to ensure our troops, military families, and military bases do not bear the brunt of these blunt and thoughtless spending cuts.

Texas is among the states that could feel the biggest sting from cuts to the Department of Defense (DoD). The evidence is in the numbers. More than 131,500 active duty military personnel are stationed in Texas, which is the largest of any state, and more than 48,000 Defense of Department civilian employees live in Texas. We need to provide these individuals with the adequate resources to not only do their job, but also to show our support for their service to our country. Former Secretary of the Army Pete Geren noted that the cuts will fall most heavily on military's training and quality-of-life budget. Large training bases like Fort Hood, Lackland Air Force Base, and Fort Bliss will feel the pinch of the defense reductions most notably.

Military bases also have a significant economic impact on the Lone Star State. Joint Base San Antonio contributes more than 200,000 jobs and $26 billion in economic activity to Texas. San Antonio is home to more Department of Defense students and active run ways than any other military installation in the country. Aside from training an estimated 14,500 Air Force pilots to date, Laughlin Air Force Base contributes over 10,000 jobs and $916 million worth of economic activity. Fort Bliss contributes over $14 billion in economic activity, as well as over 155,000 jobs. These are just some of the on-the-surface examples of the contributions of the military community to Texas. We owe our military installation the certainty in their budgets to continue their operations.

Texas jobs are also at stake. It is staggering that nearly 100,000 Texans could lose their jobs cumulatively from 2012 through 2013 because of Defense cuts caused by sequestration. Furloughed Air Force employees in Texas could lose $127 million in wages. As many as 11,000 Fort Bliss workers could also experience furloughs due to sequestration.

This is all preventable if we act now. Let's come to the table and work to avert these dire consequences to the men and women who serve our country in Texas. We welcome the opportunity for bipartisan conversation to work towards a common-sense, common-ground solution to address the sequestration cuts. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

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