{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/in-armed-services-hearing-kaine-tells-joint-chiefs-congress-can-fix-sequestration", "In Armed Services Hearing, Kaine Tells Joint Chiefs: Congress Can Fix Sequestration", "2013-11-07", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Tim Kaine", "K000384", "www.kaine.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "In Armed Services Hearing, Kaine Tells Joint Chiefs: Congress Can Fix Sequestration\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tKaine calls on active duty military personnel, veterans & patriots to urge budget conferees to achieve budget deal by Dec. 13 deadline\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThursday, November 7, 2013\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, participated in a hearing with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the impact of sequestration cuts on each branch of the military. In his opening comments, Kaine reiterated how sequester cuts have disproportionately impacted Virginia, as well as noted the important role the Budget Conference Committee, of which he is a conferee, can play in finding a bipartisan solution to reversing the non-strategic and unsustainable cuts.\r\n\u201cThe effect of sequester on Virginia is just so palpable in all the communities that I visit,\u201d Kaine said. \u201cIt\u2019s very important that we say this\u2026sequester is because Congress hasn\u2019t done a budget. And Congress can fix it.\u201d\r\nKaine added that any member of Congress who directs blame toward anyone else, including the Administration, is doing so \u201cin an effort to avoid looking in the mirror.\u201d\r\nCiting the ongoing Budget Conference as the clearest path to reversing sequester cuts, Kaine called on all Americans connected to the military to urge conferees to find a budget deal.\r\n\u201cWhether you\u2019re active, veteran, or just a patriot, tell the budget conferees\u2026get a budget deal by the 13th of December. Because what you need is certainty and a path out of sequester,\u201d Kaine said.\r\nIn closing, Kaine asked General James Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, to elaborate on his testimony in respect to the impact of sequester cuts on civilian employees \u2013 a population that includes tens of thousands of Virginians\u00a0\r\n\u201cI\u2019m ashamed of the way we\u2019ve treated our civilian marines,\u201d Amos said in response. \u201cAs I look back at how we went through the furlough and how we went through the government shutdown - the professionals that are working on our airplanes, our ships, our tanks, our equipment\u2026when I look at them in the eye, I\u2019m embarrassed. I\u2019m ashamed because I think they are every bit as patriots as we that wear the uniform are.\u201d\r\nThe next meeting of the Budget Conference Committee will take place on November 13.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/in-armed-services-hearing-kaine-tells-joint-chiefs-congress-can-fix-sequestration"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.3649658542126417, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}