Last year we were going over the fiscal cliff but this year Washington is scaring us with sequestration.
The cuts scheduled to begin March 1 take a huge bite out of the federal budget, including the military.
Those cuts will take a disproportionally large chunk out of military spending in Pennsylvania.
Its kind of like what will the government think of next? Up until a year ago who ever even heard the word sequestration?
It basically means to take into custody until orders are complied with. So for local defense installations, 12 to 13 percent of their budget will be taken until the budget war is over.
Overall the cost to the militaries’ budget could be a staggering $34 billion; this will effect the National Guard as well.
“About 96 percent of our budget is federally funded, so sequestration would have a significant impact on our readiness,” explained Major Angela King-Sweigart of Fort Indiantown Gap.
“There is talk of furloughing for approximately 22 days,” King-Sweigart continued.
The plan for now is for the vast majority of the Defense Department's 800,000 civilian workers to be furloughed for one day a week beginning in April, meaning a 20 percent pay reduction.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commented on this, saying “there is no mistaking that the rigid nature of cuts forced upon this department, and their scale, will result in a serious erosion of readiness across the force.”
“We're here as a training installation, our job is train soldiers in preparation for deployments,” King-Sweigart continued.
The Army will feel $15 billion of the budget pain, PA is one of the top four states effected by the revenue loss from the Army, Pennsylvania alone stands to loose over $1 Billion. With sequestration, when the National Guard is needed, they won't be as ready as they are now.
“The sequestration impacts our personnel readiness, it impacts our equipment, it impacts our training, all facets,” king-Sweigart admitted.
The military's impact on our region is historic, ongoing and substantial. For instance on any given day there are over 2,000 working and training at Fort Indiantown Gap.
For the Army, Pennsylvania would be in the top 10 for job losses, with over 10,000 positions gone. The cuts would have a cascading effect.
SUPER:
Omar Garcia
El Rodeo Restaurant, Carlisle
“Their business is our business, any cut that they get affects everybody around here in Carlisle,” admitted Omar Garcia of El Rodeo Restaurant in Carlisle.
American Heroes is right across the street from the Carlisle Barracks.
“We have a lot of clientele daily from them and they are very important to us,” admitted Luke jumper, who works at American Heroes Restaurant.
When you deal with numbers as large as those for the Defense Department, it is almost hard to get your mind around them. Just looking at one small slice, the federal contribution to the National Guard in South Central Pennsylvania, including Fort Indiantown Gap, is about $440 million. In only a few days that budget could be cut by roughly $56 million.
No matter how it turns out, no doubt, sequestration will be one of the words of 2013.
The cuts scheduled to begin March 1 take a huge bite out of the federal budget, including the military.
Those cuts will take a disproportionally large chunk out of military spending in Pennsylvania.
Its kind of like what will the government think of next? Up until a year ago who ever even heard the word sequestration?
It basically means to take into custody until orders are complied with. So for local defense installations, 12 to 13 percent of their budget will be taken until the budget war is over.
Overall the cost to the militaries’ budget could be a staggering $34 billion; this will effect the National Guard as well.
“About 96 percent of our budget is federally funded, so sequestration would have a significant impact on our readiness,” explained Major Angela King-Sweigart of Fort Indiantown Gap.
“There is talk of furloughing for approximately 22 days,” King-Sweigart continued.
The plan for now is for the vast majority of the Defense Department's 800,000 civilian workers to be furloughed for one day a week beginning in April, meaning a 20 percent pay reduction.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commented on this, saying “there is no mistaking that the rigid nature of cuts forced upon this department, and their scale, will result in a serious erosion of readiness across the force.”
“We're here as a training installation, our job is train soldiers in preparation for deployments,” King-Sweigart continued.
The Army will feel $15 billion of the budget pain, PA is one of the top four states effected by the revenue loss from the Army, Pennsylvania alone stands to loose over $1 Billion. With sequestration, when the National Guard is needed, they won't be as ready as they are now.
“The sequestration impacts our personnel readiness, it impacts our equipment, it impacts our training, all facets,” king-Sweigart admitted.
The military's impact on our region is historic, ongoing and substantial. For instance on any given day there are over 2,000 working and training at Fort Indiantown Gap.
For the Army, Pennsylvania would be in the top 10 for job losses, with over 10,000 positions gone. The cuts would have a cascading effect.
SUPER:
Omar Garcia
El Rodeo Restaurant, Carlisle
“Their business is our business, any cut that they get affects everybody around here in Carlisle,” admitted Omar Garcia of El Rodeo Restaurant in Carlisle.
American Heroes is right across the street from the Carlisle Barracks.
“We have a lot of clientele daily from them and they are very important to us,” admitted Luke jumper, who works at American Heroes Restaurant.
When you deal with numbers as large as those for the Defense Department, it is almost hard to get your mind around them. Just looking at one small slice, the federal contribution to the National Guard in South Central Pennsylvania, including Fort Indiantown Gap, is about $440 million. In only a few days that budget could be cut by roughly $56 million.
No matter how it turns out, no doubt, sequestration will be one of the words of 2013.