Norton at Sequester Effects Hearing Friday to Call Out Trouble Ahead for D.C.

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will join other Democrats at a Democratic Steering and Policy Committee hearing on "The Impact of Sequestration on Women and Families" on Friday, March 8, 2013, at 10:00 a.m., in the House Visitor Center, room 210.

"The sequester hit just as Women's History Month began," said Norton. "At Friday's hearing there will be no reason to celebrate the sequester's effects on women and children. Instead, we have an obligation to call out what front-loading domestic cuts, rather than spreading them selectively, will do to the most vulnerable Americans. Yesterday, the pro-defense Republican House relaxed the effects of the sequester cuts by affording greater flexibility to defense-related missions, while keeping domestic agencies that disproportionately affect women and children straightjacketed, unable to shift funds to save jobs or programs. It is not enough to wait until 600,000 people are dropped from the Women, Infants and Children programs, for example. This cut, like others, becomes permanent unless the very Congress that did the cutting appropriates funds to pick these women and children up next year."

Norton said she is particularly concerned about the 750,000 jobs that could be lost because of the sequester's effect on the national economy, just as D.C. has been making good progress in reducing its unemployment rate. She also said that the 70,000 children who will lose access to Head Start funding will make it difficult for D.C. to continue providing today's proud programs, permitting preschool education for every child. She noted that there was special irony in the cuts to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was passed last week at a level less than it was authorized eight years ago, and that although she got D.C. recognized as a state for funding purposes, unless sequestration is stopped, the District could lose up to $13,000 under the STOP Program, the largest program under VAWA.

The hearing will help awaken the public to the very real cuts that will be felt soon unless changes are made by Congress.

Published: March 7, 2013