Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, today voted against the continuing resolution that will keep in place the damaging automatic spending cuts known as sequestration.

“Congress had an opportunity to restore sanity to the federal budget. We failed. The sequester’s automatic and untargeted spending cuts are already impacting families in Northwest Washington,” Larsen said. “At the very least, Congress needs to grant federal agencies discretion to apply the spending cuts in a way that limits the impacts on Americans and preserves vital services.”

Larsen released a report last week detailing the consequences of the sequester in Northwest Washington.

“Nothing in this bill prevents a cut of 10,000 meals for seniors in Snohomish County. Nothing in this bill keeps air traffic controllers on the job fulltime, keeping our airways safe and our aviation economy growing. Nothing in this bill protects the thousands of children in Marysville, La Conner and Bellingham from devastating cuts to their school budgets.

“I want Congress to move forward with a balanced approach that cuts the deficit through smart spending cuts, slowing the growth of spending, and new revenue. Short of that, Congress must stop the sequester’s reckless, untargeted approach to cutting and grant the Administration authority to manage sequester cuts in a rational manner.”