Letter to the Editor: Sequestration Cuts

Editor's Note: The following was submitted as a Letter to the Editor from Terry Wear, chairman of the 11th Congressional District Republican Committee. It is unedited. 

Dear Editor,

There have been numerous opportunities for Gerry Connolly to stop or slow the impending sequestration cuts that will result in tens of thousands of layoffs in Northern Virginia and the 11th District.  After voting for both versions of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which authorized this sequestration process; Connolly voted against several measures that would lessen the impact of the cuts, including an amendment authored by fellow Virginia Congressman Scott Rigell.

These sequestration cuts disproportionately burden Northern Virginia and the defense industry employees of the 11th Congressional District.  Necessary reductions in spending need to be shared proportionately by all citizens and all sectors of the economy, and should not be focused primarily on a particular segment of the workforce in the 11th District.  Fair is fair, and this is not!! 

Gerry Connolly has no interest in ensuring a fair process.  He prefers to sit quietly by and let President Obama and the Democratic leadership wreck havoc on the financial wellbeing of many 11th District families.  He hopes no one will notice while he attempts to preserve his political career at the expense of his constituents.  

Even his call for Congress to forgo its August recess to discuss ways to stop sequestration from beginning was a thinly veiled political maneuver to save face.  If he truly wanted to stop this sequestration, he could have supported one of the pieces of legislation offered to him over the past seven months.

Connolly’s unwillingness to take a leadership role in stopping sequestration will plunge our local economy into a full-blown depression, and significantly weakens our ability to protect ourselves.  All the while, Connolly will continue to collect his $174,000 annual salary and increase the value of his government-guaranteed pension that is the envy of most voters in the 11th District.

We need leadership in Washington that will stand up for the voters, even if that means they have to buck their party or leadership.  We wouldn’t be in this mess if Gerry Connolly spent more time preventing the unfair application of sequestration and less time protecting his political and financial future.

Terry Wear

Chairman, 11th Cong. District Republican Committee