E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 113 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 159 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2013 No. 107 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was With only 5 legislative days remain- After speaking of force posture, what called to order by the Speaker pro tem- ing before the Congress departs for Au- have we done to ensure that if another pore (Mr. WEBSTER). gust recess, I’m increasingly concerned incident were to happen this Sep- f that none of these questions will be an- tember 11 that we’re prepared to re- swered by the one-year anniversary of spond? DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO the Benghazi attack. We’re less than 2 months away from TEMPORE According to a recent excerpt in the the 9/11 anniversary, but the American The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- forthcoming book, ‘‘Under Fire: The people don’t know whether we’re any fore the House the following commu- Untold Story of the Attack in more capable of responding to an inci- nication from the Speaker: Benghazi,’’ which was published in this dent in North Africa or the Middle WASHINGTON, DC, month’s Vanity Fair magazine, Ambas- East. July 24, 2013. sador Stevens made several calls for The American people have lost con- I hereby appoint the Honorable DANIEL help after reaching what he believed fidence in this investigation. We can WEBSTER, to act as Speaker pro tempore on was a safe room on the consulate com- help restore it with a bipartisan select this day. pound. committee. JOHN A. BOEHNER, As we well know now, one call was f Speaker of the House of Representatives. placed to his Deputy Chief of Mission, f Gregory Hicks, who was at the U.S. EFFECTS OF THE SEQUESTER The SPEAKER pro tempore. The MORNING-HOUR DEBATE Embassy in Tripoli. In May, Hicks pro- vided powerful testimony about that Chair recognizes the gentleman from The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- final conversation with Stevens. Maryland (Mr. HOYER) for 5 minutes. ant to the order of the House of Janu- He also called ‘‘local militia and pub- Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I’ve come ary 3, 2013, the Chair will now recog- lic-security commanders in Benghazi, to this floor nearly every week since nize Members from lists submitted by pleading for help.’’ the sequester took effect in March to the majority and minority leaders for What I found interesting in the Van- highlight its dangerous consequences morning-hour debate. ity Fair excerpt is that Stevens also to our national security, its harmful The Chair will alternate recognition made calls to ‘‘nearby consulates’’ on impact on our economy, and the pain it between the parties, with each party the BlackBerry of someone on his secu- is causing the most vulnerable people limited to 1 hour and each Member rity detail. Assuming the authors are in our country. other than the majority and minority correct, the government must have the Now, with the sequester in its 21st leaders and the minority whip limited phone records from Stevens’ calls to week, this Congress has still not to 5 minutes each, but in no event shall the militia and foreign consulates that achieved the big, balanced and bipar- debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. night. tisan solution to deficits that we need f This raises the important question of to replace the sequester and put Amer- what foreign consulates did he call, and ica back on a sound fiscal path. THE SEVENTH UNANSWERED how did these consulates respond? Only such an agreement, Mr. Speak- QUESTION If Stevens was calling foreign con- er, can provide a viable alternative to The SPEAKER pro tempore. The sulates, it also begs the question, did the irrational cuts this sequestration Chair recognizes the gentleman from U.S. officials in Tripoli or Washington has imposed. Those cuts are already ex- Virginia (Mr. WOLF) for 5 minutes. call any allies with assets in Libya to acerbating the many challenges we Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, today I’ve help respond to the attack? face as a Nation. come to the floor to raise the seventh Furthermore, did the Pentagon con- Later this week, I will be delivering in a series of critical but unanswered nect any NATO allies with military as- meals to seniors in my district with questions about the terrorist attacks sets in the region that could have pro- the Meals on Wheels program, which on the U.S. consulate and annex in vided assistance that night? could be delivering 4 million fewer Benghazi last September 11. Given how close many of the Euro- meals nationwide as a result of the se- Despite a year of investigation in a pean allies are to the Mediterranean, quester. number of committees, the American wouldn’t they have planes or response One small business owner from my people still do not know the answers to teams stationed in locations in or near- district recently reached out to my these questions, nor do they know if by the region that could have mobi- staff to say that he was personally im- they have even been asked. lized upon a request from Washington? pacted by Meals on Wheels when the b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H4981 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 00:59 Jul 25, 2013 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A24JY7.000 H24JYPT1 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H4982 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE July 24, 2013 grandmother who raised him was diag- who are being forced to stay home from I’m so proud of the legislation that nosed with cancer and came to rely on work without pay. They were certainly we’ve passed that would move America Meals on Wheels during the final part concerned about their families’ fi- to energy independence and create hun- of her life. nances. dreds of thousands of jobs. He couldn’t believe that after all the But Mr. Speaker, these hardworking But in one very critical area we’re se- good work the Prince George’s County and patriotic public servants were far riously off track. Our calendar does not Meals on Wheels office had done, that more worried about furloughs’ effect on reflect the challenges and the top pri- they were being forced to reduce their our military readiness and support for orities of our country. Specifically, operations significantly as a result of our troops in the field on those Fridays we’re not on track to pass all 12 appro- the sequester. when many are forced to stay home, priations bills that fund the Federal Surely, Mr. Speaker, the richest and not at their post. Legally, they Government for 2014. country on the face of the Earth does can’t even come to work and volunteer The fact is, we’re not even close to not need to leave people, particularly their time. passing those bills. And with our cur- seniors who can’t get out, hungry. The sequester is hurting morale and rent congressional calendar, I cannot Other harmful effects on the most putting our security at risk, Mr. possibly see a way that we can pass vulnerable Americans include an 11 Speaker, at a moment when our troops those bills by September 30, which is percent cut to emergency unemploy- are still in harm’s way every single the end of the current fiscal year. ment insurance payments and 125,000 day, Fridays, otherwise known as fur- This is not without consequence. It fewer rental assistance vouchers. lough days, included. damages our economy, job creation. It Mr. Speaker, as many as 70,000 chil- I’ll be going to another installation damages our military in a very real dren could be kicked out of Head in Maryland’s Fifth District on Friday, way. And ultimately, it hurts hard- Start—they’re only going to be 4 Mr. Speaker, the Naval Surface War- working American families. once—including approximately 800 fare Center at Indian Head, to meet Now, let’s look at the status of the 12 children in my own State. with civilian employees there. I will bills, and then look at the time that re- I read on Monday in The Washington tell them that Congress has the ability mains on the congressional calendar to Post about the Whitney Young Head to end the furloughs they are experi- debate and pass those bills in time to Start Center in Yonkers, New York, encing now. avoid what’s referred to as a con- Mr. Speaker, which has served pri- We have the ability to keep those tinuing resolution. marily Hispanic families for more than kids from losing Head Start, and our And make no mistake here. A con- 12 years, teaching kids English and seniors from losing meals. We have tinuing resolution is wholly inadequate providing them medical services and that ability now. We can do so by com- as a financial vehicle to fund this gov- meals. It closed down on Friday, a vic- ing together in a bipartisan way to re- ernment. It has serious adverse con- tim of sequestration. place the sequester with a balanced al- sequences, and that’s why this topic And on Monday, an article in the ternative that includes spending cuts merits the careful attention of this Huffington Post drew attention to an and, yes, revenues.