House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urged House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) on Monday to forgo a scheduled recess until lawmakers have replaced the coming round of automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.
“The House should not recess and Members of Congress should not go home until we finish our work, reach an agreement, and avert this crisis,” Pelosi wrote in a letter. “Democrats are eager to work with Republicans to find solutions, not sequesters. We have put a responsible plan on the table to create growth with jobs, strengthen the middle class, and reduce the deficit in a balanced way.”
Read Pelosi’s full letter below:
February 11, 2013
The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515Dear Speaker Boehner,
Americans are waiting for Congress to resolve the economic and fiscal challenges facing our country. The men and women, workers and entrepreneurs, parents and children in our communities have seen us lurch from one Republican-manufactured crisis to the next too many times. They have witnessed a Republican House unable and unwilling to resolve our most pressing issues until the last possible moment, only to create greater uncertainty for our economy.
With just seven legislative days left until across-the-board spending cuts take effect, there is too much at stake for the House to go into recess for nine days. The so-called “sequester” has already injected uncertainty into the economy and sapped the confidence of consumers and the markets. Last month’s disappointing GDP report was a direct result of the economic uncertainty surrounding the fiscal cliff, the looming sequester crisis, and expected cuts to our defense industry. Now, these cuts threaten further damage to our economic recovery, job creation, the middle class, and military readiness.
The House should not recess and Members of Congress should not go home until we finish our work, reach an agreement, and avert this crisis. Democrats are eager to work with Republicans to find solutions, not sequesters. We have put a responsible plan on the table to create growth with jobs, strengthen the middle class, and reduce the deficit in a balanced way.
Congress must do what’s right for the American people, not what’s wrong for the economy. We must stay in session until our work is complete.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
best regards,
NANCY PELOSI
Democratic Leader
