What is a Sequester and What Does it Mean for You?

A sequester is federal spending cuts and we are facing a deadline of March 1, 2013 for congress to do something to keep a lot of things we need from being cut.  The federal cuts could be around $1.2 trillion that could lead to another recession.  This all could have been avoided back in December 2011 had action been taken, instead of pushed back.

 

(from: What the heck is the sequester? by CNNMoney)



Planned Cuts

• Aircraft purchases by the Air Force and Navy are cut by $3.5 billion.
• Military operations across the services are cut by about $13.5 billion.
• Military research is cut by $6.3 billion.
• The National Institutes of Health get cut by $1.6 billion.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are cut by about $323 million.
• Border security is cut by about $581 million.
• Immigration enforcement is cut by about $323 million.
• Airport security is cut by about $323 million.
• Head Start gets cut by $406 million, kicking 70,000 kids out of the program.
• FEMA’s disaster relief budget is cut by $375 million.
• Public housing support is cut by about $1.94 billion.
• The FDA is cut by $206 million.
• NASA gets cut by $970 million.
• Special education is cut by $840 million.
• The Energy Department’s program for securing our nukes is cut by $650 million.
• The National Science Foundation gets cut by about $388 million.
• The FBI gets cut by $480 million.
• The federal prison system gets cut by $355 million.
• State Department diplomatic functions are cut by $650 million.
• Global health programs are cut by $433 million; the Millenium Challenge Corp. sees a $46 million cut, and USAID a cut of about $291 million.
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is cut by $55 million.
• The SEC is cut by $75.6 million.
• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is cut by $2.6 million.
• The Library of Congress is cut by $31 million.
• The Patent and Trademark office is cut by $156 million.

What Wont Get Cut

•  Medicaid
• Social Security
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF/Welfare)
• Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP/Food Stamps)

What Else?

Well, beyond programs having their spending cut, people will lose jobs. Those that are government contractors, or even government employees, could be forced to take furloughs - time off, without pay.  Anytime that people are in jeopardy of losing their jobs, or even facing time off without pay, the amount of general spending done drops. The economy could suffer, and things could get worse.

Bottom Line

Congressinal leaders, the President, and Vice President need to play nice and get along. Our families are depending on it....