WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) and over 100 other Members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama yesterday in support of his threat to veto legislation that would roll back scheduled defense cuts. The letter was prompted by legislation introduced by a group of senators led by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that would begin repealing those cuts.
“Cuts will always be difficult, but we’ve already agreed to these,” Himes said. “A deal is a deal, and any serious effort to reduce the deficit absolutely—mathematically—must include cuts to defense.”
The automatic cuts to defense and domestic programs, scheduled to take effect in 2013, were signed into law as part of the agreement last summer to raise the federal debt ceiling. McCain’s legislation would partially roll back only the defense cuts.
The letter says:
With the failure of the Super Committee to reach a deficit reduction agreement, we write in full support of your view that the sequester scheduled to take effect on January 2, 2013, should not be repealed or amended absent an agreement to reduce deficits that meets or exceeds the amount to be sequestered. The failure of Congress to act must have consequences. We stand ready to work with you over the next year to put America back on a firm financial footing and will vote to sustain your veto of any effort to repeal all or part of the scheduled sequester.
Click here for PDF version of the letter.