Hoyer Remarks at Town Hall Meeting with Federal Employees at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

GREENBELT, MD – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) attended a town hall meeting with federal employees at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to discuss the need to replace the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration with a balanced deficit reduction plan and other issues important to the Goddard community. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

“It’s great to be back at one of our nation’s – and, indeed, one of the world’s – finest space research facilities, right here in Maryland’s Fifth District.

“At Goddard, the eternal dream of reaching the heavens becomes reality every day. I am incredibly proud of the work you do here, which not only enhances our understanding of the universe but also helps protect us by improving our understanding of climate, weather, asteroids, and solar activity.

“Your work was instrumental to modeling and predicting the path of Hurricane Sandy—helping us prepare and save lives. The upcoming GPM launch will significantly add to those weather forecasting abilities.

“The upcoming MMS launch will greatly increase our ability to forecast solar storms that threaten the satellite GPS and communication networks upon which we have come to rely so much.

“And the world is in awe as you lead the scientific work on the Curiosity Rover – analyzing soil right now on the surface of Mars.

“Your work also has a proven track record of yielding innovation, new technologies, and economic growth in the private sector that helps America maintain its global leadership in science and technology.

“The work you are doing is critically important, but, unfortunately, Congress is now getting in the way. The dangerous and irrational budget cuts known as ‘sequester’ should never have come into effect.

“These automatic, across-the-board cuts won’t all take effect immediately but will be implemented gradually over the coming weeks and months. This means Congress still has a chance to stop the impact of these cuts. But doing so will require compromise.

“Congress owes it to you and every American not to allow partisanship to get in the way of policymaking. The effects of the sequester at NASA and Goddard could be significant, delaying projects, neglecting infrastructure, and hurting morale.

“The effects also could be very serious for many middle-class families and businesses in Maryland and across the country. And the cuts could have a negative impact on the most vulnerable in our society – those who need federal assistance to avoid poverty and to access education and job training. In addition to children being kicked out of head start, reduced funding for medical and scientific research, and millions of seniors losing assistance – like meals on wheels – the sequester could mean further cuts aimed at our federal workforce.

“Already, federal employees have been asked to contribute $103 billion toward deficit reduction in the form of pay freezes and increased pension contributions over the last few years.

“Now, with the onset of sequester, there is a very real chance that hundreds of thousands of civilian federal employees, including 46,000 civilian Defense Department employees in Maryland and thousands of others at Maryland’s 60 non-military federal facilities, could be furloughed.

“That is no way to provide our people with the effective and responsive government they deserve. Yet, federal employees have continued to do an outstanding job in spite of these undeserved cuts and setbacks.

“I know many of you are worried about the sequester’s potential impact on your pay and benefits, including the possibility of furloughs. Know that I am committed to replacing the sequester with a balanced solution to deficits that employs smart, sensible cuts reflective of our priorities – not haphazard cuts that eat into the important work NASA and other agencies are performing on the American people’s behalf.

“But to achieve a balanced approach, we need compromise in Congress.

“Members of Congress ought to come here to Goddard and be reminded of the critical work you do. It is time for congress to set aside extreme partisanship and embrace its responsibility to ‘provide for the common defense and general welfare’ of our nation.

“I will continue to push for a balanced solution that can turn the sequester off by finding savings that make sense as well as new revenues.

“Congress owes it to all of you to do so – and do so quickly.

“As President Kennedy said about America’s space program and its ambitious goals: ‘we choose to do them not because they are easy, but because they are hard.’

“You perform the work you do – the exploration and discovery that benefits us all – not because it is easy. You all know that when something is incredibly difficult, people say you need to be ‘a rocket scientist’ to get it done. Well, Goddard shows exactly why that expression is true.

“You are among the world’s brightest and most highly motivated individuals, and I am incredibly proud to represent you and your work in Congress. You continue to enrich the life of our nation and, indeed, advance the cause of human understanding of the universe and of our place in it.

“Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.”