Press Release

March 18, 2013
Cardin Takes Q&A From Census Bureau Employees On Sequestration, Federal Budget

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Finance Committee and representative for nearly 300,000 federal civilian and military workers, held the latest in his series of town halls with federal employees today at the U.S. Census Bureau headquarters in Lanham, Maryland. The Census Bureau is one Maryland’s 60 non-military federal facilities. Senator Cardin provided an update on the federal budget, including sequestration and the continuing resolution now being debated in the Senate to fund the government through the end of the FY13 fiscal year.  

“It is hard to underestimate the importance of the work done at the Census Bureau. An accurate count of residents can mean better infrastructure and more services for communities. Political, economic, and social decisions, including how many seats in the House of Representatives, are based on the data coming from the Census Bureau. We owe these men and women something more deliberate and balanced than the meat-axe approach of sequestration. We should be more specific in which programs are priorities and which ones can or should be cut. We need to have a balanced way to deal with our fiscal challenges,” said Senator Cardin.

“Sequestration should never have gone into effect, but it is here and we all are dealing with the consequences. Going forward we must support the federal government and the important role it plays in stimulating the economy. Federal workers should not solely bear the brunt of America’s economic burden.  They are public servants providing critical services to the American people. We need to protect the federal workforce because of their specialized experience and the many contributions they make to our quality of life.  We need talented, educated professionals to remain globally competitive.  Times are tough, but this is not the time to vilify federal workers and to take away incentives that encourage their public service.”

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