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U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan Releases Statement After Senate Voted On Two Alternative Sequestration Proposals

March 1, 2013. U.S. Senator Kay Hagan released the following statement after the Senate voted on two alternative sequestration proposals:

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan
U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan

“Sequestration is a nine-year proposition, but neither of the bills before us today would address the next eight years. In addition to potentially harming our state’s farmers and imposing significant defense cuts that could hurt North Carolina, these bills offered only a short-term solution for the remainder of this year. Washington cannot keep operating on short-term, patchwork solutions. That’s not how any company does business, it’s not how families budget their money, and it’s not how we’re going to provide the certainty North Carolinians need.

“Furthermore, giving the Administration unprecedented authority to pick and choose which programs to cut sends the signal that a responsible plan to reduce our deficit long-term is unattainable, and I’m not willing to give up on bipartisan cooperation in that way. Congress still must do its job. We need a long-term deficit reduction plan that is balanced and bipartisan. Even though gridlock has gotten in the way of solutions far too frequently, the answer isn’t to just throw up our hands and forget our responsibilities. The answer is to get Republicans and Democrats to come to the table and talk about how we can meet in the middle.

“These cuts will be harmful for our state, but it is my hope that we can come together, Democrats and Republicans, on a long-term deficit reduction plan before the most severe impacts of sequestration are felt in North Carolina. The middle class shouldn’t have to keep paying the price for Washington’s dysfunction.”