Sen. Daniel Inouye says avoiding the possibility of government shutdown during a lame duck session is essential. Here’s some of what he said in a statement about the short-term deal to stave off a government shutdown:

“Given sequestration’s devastating impact on defense and especially non-defense functions of the federal government, I am encouraged that our leaders are planning to address this very serious problem before January. It is essential that discretionary spending not bear the brunt of additional cuts when the true drivers of our deficit spending are mandatory spending and a lack of revenues.”

Last fall, Civil Beat explored what the automatic cuts that would accompany sequestration would mean for Hawaii. 

— Adrienne LaFrance