Rep. Loebsack Speaks Out Against Sequester, As Budget Cuts Could Crunch Schools, Social Services, Military in Iowa

For what it's worth Dave Loebsack (D-IA) isn't too happy about sequestration, and he's letting the leaders of his party know about it.

If a deal isn’t struck by Friday between President Obama and Congress, a sequester will begin that will auto-start a series of mandated federal budget cuts that would quickly be felt across the Midwest.

Based on the rhetoric so far between leaders of the opposing parties, things have still been less than productive as has become the norm.

Via NBC News 'You got your tax increase,' Boehner tells Obama as sequest staring contest continues

The nation’s capital was enveloped in a familiar kind of gridlock late Monday, as Republicans again demanded that President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats act first to put off $85 billion in automatic cuts slated to take effect on Friday.

“The president says we have to have another tax increase to avoid the sequester,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said of the hefty and indiscriminate spending cuts. “Well, Mr. President, you got your tax increase. It's time to cut spending.”

On Monday, Rep. Loebsack released a letter adressed to the both party leaders in the House of Representatives, scolding congress for taking a week off before coming back with just four days to work on the issue:

“As I have said repeatedly, allowing sequestration to occur and putting politics ahead of jobs, the economy, and our national security would be the height of irresponsibility,” wrote Loebsack in a letter to House leaders. 

“Congress must work every day to stop sequestration.  The House of Representatives should not take a single day off until a balanced, bipartisan solution is reached.  I urge you to work with the Senate and with the Administration to find such a solution and to keep the House working until a solution is reached.”

From his district, Loebsack specifically cited potential pay disruptions at the Rock Island Arsenal, defunding for work-study for college students, and the elimination in hundreds National Science Foundation grants to the University of Iowa as potential negative consequences of not solving sequestration before March 1.

The good news is that even a deal can't be reached by this time, there still could be some wiggle room.

Is Obama telling truth about sequestration? (Politico)

The state-by-state reports are full of scary numbers about funding cuts for schools, defense, public health, law enforcement and social services — any of which could be true if Congress and Obama fail to act this week, next month — or ever.

So the scenarios described by Obama — “thousands of teachers and educators will be laid off” or “hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose access to primary care and preventive care like flu vaccinations and cancer screenings” — are the worst-case scenario.

In other words, even if no deal is reached, there could be the possibility of congressional leaders lessening their impact or eliminating them before they take place.

Of course, to do that they would have to do some work of some kind.

So, bearing that in mind, here’s a sample of some other items that could be at risk for budget cuts:

See Also: Q&A on sequestration (Seattle Times)

Hundreds of teaching jobs. Thousands of children dropped from early childhood education. Elimination of work-study jobs that support thousands of low-income college students getting a degree. The loss of childcare for thousands of disadvantaged kids. Furloughs for thousands of civilian Defense Department employees.

The scope of the sequester, a plan to trim the budget by $1.2 trillion over the next decade, was mandated as part of a 2011 law. If a deal isn’t reached by Friday, $85 billion in cuts will sweep across federal agencies between March and September. The sequester includes cuts of 8 percent to the Pentagon budget and 5 percent to domestic agency operating budgets.

Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, a Democrat who now serves as agriculture secretary, said he may have to furlough safety inspectors at food processing plant, according to a report in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. 

“If I take an inspector off that line, that line shuts down,” he said in the report, “but it’s not just the food inspector. It’s also the folks working in those plants and the livestock producers who want a regulated way to sell their product.”

Nationally, here’s what a Time report suggests will happen if the sequester begins:

Picture air travel snarled. Meat inspections curtailed. National security imperiled. Seventy thousand children booted from Head Start programs, 10,000 teaching jobs jeopardized, disability payments delayed, aid withheld from needy Americans and foreign governments perched on the brink of chaos. Hundreds of thousands of jobs could be lost, and the fragile economy knocked into a tailspin.

The White House released fact sheets for each state detailing the impact of the sequester. Here are some of the potential cuts to Iowa programs.

Teachers and Schools:

• Iowa will lose about $6.4 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 90 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 7,000 fewer students would be served and approximately 50 fewer schools would receive funding.

Education for Children with Disabilities:

• Iowa will lose an estimated $5.8 million in funds for about 70 teachers, aides, and staff who help children with disabilities.

Work-Study Jobs:

• Iowa: Around 2,370 fewer low income students in Iowa would receive aid to help them finance the costs of college and around 1,020 fewer students will get work-study jobs that help them pay for college.

Head Start:

• Iowa: Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 500 children in Iowa, reducing access to critical early education.

Protections for Clean Air and Clean Water:

• Iowa would lose about $2.4 million in environmental funding to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste. In addition, Iowa could lose another $661,000 in grants for fish and wildlife protection.

Military Readiness:

In Iowa, approximately 2,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $7.4 million in total.

• Army: Base operation funding would be cut by about $1.5 million in Iowa.
• Air Force: Funding for Air Force operations in Iowa would be cut by about $0 million.

Law Enforcement and Public Safety Funds for Crime Prevention and Prosecution:

• Iowa will lose about $135,000 in Justice Assistance Grants that support law enforcement, prosecution and courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, and crime victim and witness initiatives.

Job Search Assistance:

• Iowa will lose about $376,000 in funding for job search assistance, referral, and placement, meaning around 12,680 fewer people will get the help and skills they need to find employment.

Child Care:

• Iowa: Up to 300 disadvantaged and vulnerable children could lose access to child care, which is also essential for working parents to hold down a job.

Vaccines for Children:

• In Iowa, around 1,320 fewer children will receive vaccines for diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough, influenza, and Hepatitis B due to reduced funding for vaccinations of about $90,000.

Public Health:

• Iowa will lose approximately $291,000 in funds to help upgrade its ability to respond to public health threats including infectious diseases, natural disasters, and biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological events. In addition, Iowa will lose about $670,000 in grants to help prevent and treat substance abuse, resulting in around 1,100 fewer admissions to substance abuse programs. And the Iowa Department of Public Health will lose about $61,000 resulting in around 1,500 fewer HIV tests.

STOP Violence Against Women Program:

• Iowa could lose up to $65,000 in funds that provide services to victims of domestic violence, resulting in up to 200 fewer victims being served.

Nutrition Assistance for Seniors:

• Iowa would lose approximately $220,000 in funds that provide meals for seniors.