*Sequestration

"It has been 91 days since the House passed its budget, but Speaker Boehner has yet to follow regular order by appointing conferees.  Only then can negotiations with the Senate on a final version begin in earnest.  A budget conference is the best shot at reaching a compromise agreement on a big and balanced solution to our deficits that can replace the entire sequester and provide American families and businesses with the certainty they need.

MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP

On Monday, our nation marked the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, signed by President John F. Kennedy. While we've made progress in opening the doors of opportunity for women, we must take additional action to ensure equal pay for equal work, including swift consideration and passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor.

“Mr. Speaker, as we proceed with the fifteenth week of the Republican policy of sequester, this House continues to avoid taking the steps it ought to be taking to replace the entire sequester with a balanced alternative. Instead, House Republicans have fully embraced the sequester's draconian cuts, which slash funding from our highest and lowest priorities equally and put our economic recovery and national security at risk.

MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP

On the House Floor this week, House Republicans moved forward with a flawed appropriations process instead of working towards a final budget agreement.  Without a budget conference report, Republicans have set spending levels in accordance with the extreme Ryan budget.

“Mr. Speaker, what's before us is before us. What's before us is a rule. Not the Mil-Con bill, not Homeland Security. What's before us is the bill. And what does the bill do? It doesn't have an open process. It doesn't allow us an amendment.

It has been 75 days since the House passed a budget, and 73 days since the Senate completed their budget, yet House Republicans still have not appointed conferees to work towards a compromise budget.

We already knew sequester was going to have a gradual but nonetheless harmful impact, so we’re not surprised by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray T. Odierno continued warning on sequester. According to CQ:

MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP

This week, the Republican-led House officially missed the deadline to act on the debt ceiling, which had been suspended through May 18th and again took effect on the 19th. Congress has a responsibility to achieve a big, balanced, and bipartisan solution to our deficits instead of playing games with the creditworthiness of the United States.