Top House Democrats on Friday rose in opposition to a bipartisan Senate bill that would end furloughs of air traffic controllers caused by sequestration, arguing that it unfairly left in place budget cuts across all other domestic and defense programs.
“I will oppose this bill because it fails to address the whole impact of sequester,” Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) said on the floor. “Let me share just a handful of examples of how the sequester will affect Americans. Education, Head Start, 70,000 children will be kicked out of Head Start. Nothing in this bill deals with them. Furloughs to cause delays in processing retirement for disability claims, nothing in this bill deals with them. Four million fewer Meals on Wheels for seniors…Emergency unemployment insurance cut 11% for two million out-of-work Americans. Nothing in here for them.”
He added: “We ought not to be mitigating the sequester’s effect on just one segment, when children, the sick, our military and many other groups who will be impacted by this irresponsible policy are left unhelped.”
The Senate voted unanimously Thursday night to advance the legislation in order to reopen control towers and “prevent reduced operations and staffing” at the Federal Aviation Administration by rerouting funds from other agency programs.
Though she ultimately voted for the bill, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) seconded Hoyer’s comments, calling on Republicans to address all sequestration cuts in conference with their Senate counterparts.
“Why don’t you understand that there is a great deal at stake, including efficiency and the safety of our airports, but also, again, the education of our children,” she said.