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Source: U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (N.C.-6), 3/6/13
Had he been in Washington, D.C., for today’s vote on a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government for the rest of the year, U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), said he would have voted for the legislation. Congressman Coble is still recovering from a recent hospitalization for dizziness and light-headedness.
“On Monday, I still did not feel well enough to travel to Capitol Hill,” Rep. Coble stated. “After consulting with my physician, I decided to rest at home in Greensboro. I was making plans to drive to Washington on Wednesday when, because of the impending snow storm, the House moved the vote on H.R. 933 from Thursday to today. After consulting with House leadership, who told me that they had the necessary votes to adopt the CR, I decided to remain in North Carolina. Also because of the change in the House calendar, the first hearing of the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, which I chair, and scheduled for this Thursday, has been postponed because of the bad weather.”
The 6th District representative said he would have voted for the CR, which passed the House by a vote of 267-151. “It is important that we lock in President Obama’s sequester,” Coble said in a statement, “and prevent him from creating fictional crises – such as cancelling White House tours – to garner support for more federal spending and more taxes. This CR will avoid a government shutdown on March 27, prioritize Defense and Veterans programs, and allow the Pentagon some leeway to do its best with the funding it is provided. In addition, mainstream citizen advocacy groups such as the National Taxpayers Union have endorsed passage of the CR.”
Congressman Coble said another feature of the CR that appealed to him was a provision that ensured no future attempts to restore the sequestered funds. Rep. Coble said several other noteworthy provisions of the CR included:
A provision allowing additional funding for nuclear weapons modernization efforts, to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
A provision allowing Customs and Border Protection to maintain current staffing levels.
A provision providing additional funding for the FBI to ensure current staffing levels and critical increases in cyber security and surveillance.
A provision providing roughly $2 billion above the current level for embassy security, which supports the full Fiscal Year 2013 request and increased security needs identified after the Benghazi attack.
A provision allowing additional funding to ensure the safe and secure operation of federal prisons.
A provision requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement to sustain the mandated capacity of 34,000 detention beds.
A provision extending the current pay freeze for federal employees, which includes members of Congress.
A provision allowing additional funding for the Department of Interior and the Forest Service for wildfire suppression efforts.
A provision allowing additional funding to maintain the launch schedule for new weather satellites, ensuring the continuation of data for weather warnings and forecasts, including forecasts of severe weather events.
A provision requiring every federal agency to provide spending plans to Congress to ensure transparency and the proper use of taxpayer dollars.
Congressman Coble said he has a full schedule planned for Friday in North Carolina and looks forward to getting back to work.
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