Associations: The impact of sequestration
Ahead of today's vote in the Senate on S. 388, the “American Family Economic Protection Act” - which many believe is unlikely to pass - associations shared their thoughts on the effect of sequestration on their industries:
American Road, Tunnel, Bridge Association: "As you have no-doubt read or heard, the federal government faces a budget sequestration process unless Congress reaches a compromise by March 1—an agreement that appears increasingly unlikely….Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have spent the past few months lamenting the severity of the cuts and detailing the overall impact on the economy. It remains unclear if a plan to delay or modify the cuts will be advanced in the next few days."
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) video explains what sequestration will do to military families. Among their points: "Civilian Employees: Over 800,000 civilian DoD employees will be furloughed 1 day per week beginning April 25. Limited exceptions include: civilians employees that are deployed and civilians employees who are required to maintain safety of life or property….
Health Care: Because over 40% of the health care work force at Military Treatment Facilities are federal civilian employees, expect an impact on services….At a recent press conference, Jessica Wright, Acting Under Secretary of Defense, said 'If sequestration is not averted, the associated furloughs will impact our warfighters, our veterans, and our family members in untold ways.'”
U.S. Chamber: Bruce Josten states: "This legislation would fail to address the federal government’s spending problems and would, instead, replace spending cuts with tax increases. The Chamber has long stated that the sequester is bad public policy and should be replaced with prioritized spending cuts. But, this legislation would be worse than even the sequester. It would not prioritize less spending; rather, it would impose new taxes on businesses in specific industries. Like the sequester, this approach is not the answer."
Global Business Travel Association executive director Michael W. McCormick: “Threatened reductions in air traffic controllers, customs clearance officers, and TSA officials staffing airport checkpoints risk long lines, system slow-downs, and general delays….Rather than blunt cuts with unpredictable ramifications, GBTA supports a return to the regular order of consideration of authorization and appropriations bills in Congress, and a solid, smart approach to funding the government for the next seven months.”
Association of American Medical Colleges CEO Darrell G. Kirsch writing in The Hill blog: "If sequestration takes effect, these cuts will disproportionately impact the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals and the patients they serve. Only 6 percent of hospitals, major teaching hospitals, and their medical school physicians provide more than 20 percent of all hospital care in this country, 41 percent of hospital charity care, 20 percent of care to Medicare patients, and 25 percent of care to Medicaid patients."
