McDonnell: Sequester Could Force Virginia Into Recession
Governor sends letter to president, congressional delegation.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell sent a letter Monday to President Barack Obama and the Old Dominion's congressional delegation calling for immediate action to prevent automatic spending cuts under sequestration. The $1.2 trillion in cuts — meant to force Congress to compromise, which hasn't happened — are slated to go into effect March 1. That deadline has been pushed back several times as lawmakers have brokered Band-Aid solutions. "The automatic sequestration reductions mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 are already having a significant adverse effect on the Commonwealth," McDonnell stated. "When fully implemented, they could force Virginia and other states into a recession. Sequestration-mandated reductions will be implemented with …
Lee Hernly
11:20 am on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Sequestration is about politics - plain and simple. President Obama proposed it. It does not cut any real federal spending. All sequestration does is limit the growth of Government due to baseline budgeting. For example, Department of Defense spending is expected to grow 8-10% this year. Sequestration limits that growth to 6-8% this year. Where are the cuts? more ›