Ayotte: Sequestration Must End

U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, never voted in favor of the legislation that created the Super Committee and sequestration in the event a federal deficit reduction plan could not be reached. For more than a year, she warned it would have dire consequences for national security.

On Thursday afternoon, Ayotte met with Portsmouth Naval Shipyard commander Capt. L. Bryant Fuller, union heads and other members of the shipyard's leadership team to learn even more about how sequestration will hurt the facillity and the nearly 6,000 people who work there.

At Gate 1, Ayotte said that while she is pleased the Department of Defense reduced the furloughs from 22 to 14 days, she still feels very bad for the workers and their families that they will have any furlough days at all.

"They have a full work schedule so furloughing these talented workers makes no sense," she said. Ayotte vowed to continue her fight against sequestration and said she will introduce more bills that propose alternative ways to cut federal spending so sequestration is no longer needed.

She commended the shipyard staff for implementing energy efficiencies that will save the Navy millions of dollars, but added that until lawmakers in Washington are willing to make the tough decisions to end sequestration, it may continue for a long time.

What follows is a video where Ayotte talks about her shipyard tour and commitment to end sequestration.