House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (WA-09) released the following statement to commemorate Black History Month:

“As we celebrate Black History Month, we are reminded of the great achievements African-Americans both past and present have made to help shape the fabric of our nation.  Throughout history, African-Americans have been remarkable inventors, philosophers, statesmen, writers, and leaders in our community. While Black History Month inspires us to recognize the vast number of achievements of African-Americans, we should continue to incorporate Black history in our schools’ American history curriculum year-round.  
 
“In the face of our nation’s most disgraceful moments, from slavery to segregation, African-Americans have showed incredible leadership, determination, and commitment in fighting for equality that has benefitted millions of Americans.  We should take the lessons of the past to advance our society beyond the oppression, prejudice, and hate that continues to plague our country. While our nation struggles to solve unemployment rates, bring our public schools to a competitive standard, mend our broken healthcare model, and fix our judiciary system, we must recognize that African-Americans are disproportionately affected when we fail to do so. As a nation, it is critical that we ensure every American, regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic status has an equal opportunity to succeed.”

House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (WA-09) released the following statement after the Commerce Department’s estimate for the GDP in the fourth quarter of 2012:

“It is deeply troubling that our GDP contracted in the fourth quarter of 2012, representing the first negative growth in more than three years.  With the risk of sequestration on the horizon, no long-term solution for the debt ceiling, and the inability to pass appropriations bills, it is no surprise that our economy was negatively impacted.

“Now is the time for Congress to make the difficult choices and implement long-term solutions that provide stability for the economy.  Unfortunately, Republicans insist on using appropriations bills and the debt ceiling as bargaining chips to further an agenda of spending cuts to important programs like Medicare, while refusing to even discuss increasing revenues as part of any solution.  This has led to stalled appropriations bills, the risk of default, and the threat of sequestration, all of which hurt our economy.  As we move forward, Congress must provide critical stability and certainty by agreeing on comprehensive, long-term appropriation bills that will eliminate the threat of sequestration, defaulting on our debt, and government shutdowns.”

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