CONGRESSMAN BISHOP OFFERS AMENDMENT TO REVERSE SEQUESTER, END FURLOUGHS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, offered an amendment during the House Appropriations Committee’s markup of its Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 spending bill for the Legislative Branch to reverse the across-the-board budget cuts due to sequestration for FY 2013 and FY 2014. The amendment would prevent sequestration throughout the federal government.

“Sequestration’s spending reductions have a ripple effect all across the government and negatively impact investments in education, job training, health care, national security, and many other services Americans need,” said Congressman Bishop. “The Legislative Branch and the entire federal government may be functioning today, but it is doing so on an empty stomach. We must end sequestration’s penny-wise but pound-foolish approach, as I do not believe that any of us want to see it become a skeleton.”

Congressman Bishop’s amendment would have prevented the furloughs which began last week in non-essential civilian employees at the Department of Defense. In Georgia’s Second Congressional District, over 3,000 employees were subjected to furloughs at Fort Benning, 2,900 at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, and over 15,200 at nearby Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins. Congressman Bishop’s amendment would cancel the need for furloughs as well as protect veteran programs from future sequester.

Congressman Bishop’s amendment was defeated on a party line vote of 26 to 21.

Congressman Bishop has been a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch since 2011, which has jurisdiction over the budgets of the United States Congress, Library of Congress, Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the Government Printing Office. Congressman Bishop is also the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies as well as a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.