I have also had the privilege to speak with several groupsincluding theAmerican Federation of Government Employees recently about two specific issues I know are a concern to your community: sequestration and the recent hiring freeze announcement. Sequestration, as you know, has been harmful to our federal employees and our national defense. In fact, we've seen an arbitrary 31 percent cut to defense spending between 2010 and 2016. And those cuts have hurt operations, maintenance, and readiness, making our country less safe. I promise to do all I can to work with other leaders in Congress to find a solution to the sequestration challenge.