Congressman Steny H. Hoyer released the following statement after the House passed a Continuing Resolution that will fund the government through September 30, 2013. Congress has a responsibility to keep our government running and serving the American people. While I am pleased that the Senate was able to reach a bipartisan agreement on improvements to the House version of the CR and fund our government through the end of September, I would have preferred an approach that fully replaced the sequester with a balanced mix of targeted spending cuts and additional revenues. Doing so would have allowed us avoid the harmful impact of this irrational process on Fifth District jobs and national security. I would have also preferred a bill that would have provided a cost of living adjustment for our hardworking federal employees. Unfortunately, Republican lawmakers insisted on continuing the existing pay freeze on these middle-class workers, which is unfair and unwise policy that undermines our ability to recruit and retain the highly-skilled federal workforce that our nation deserves. I hope that Congress will abandon these efforts that target our public servants, who work hard to ensure the safety and well being of the American people. We must focus [...]
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