New York would lose $275 million in federal funding for education, job training, public health and law enforcement if a deal on the looming "sequestration" cuts can’t be reached by Friday, March 1, reported the Times-Union.
In a White House statement issued Sunday night, officials in the Oval Office gave a state-by-state breakdowns of the fiscal fallout, if no budget deal is sealed in the coming days.
And for New York State, thousands more job losses for civilian employees is the biggest potential blow. But that also would mean a laundry list of inconveniences at the civil service level, including longer lines in government buildings/offices, protracted airport delays, fewer food inspections and more.
The Department of Defense would see the greatest percentage of job losses between civil and social services, with a 13 percent reduction-- approximately 12,000 jobs, while non-defense programs can expect to see an average 9 percent reduction.
Additionally, around 70,000 young children would lose access to the Head Start program.
Many are hoping both sides pull through before March 1, and devise a solution that is bi-partisan and crafted, rather looking towards the default as an acceptable conclusion. Speaking last week in Albany, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said that the way Washington works is sort of like Albany: "Things get done at the very last minute."
However, Republican House Speaker John Boehner said last week in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the sequester "is a product of the President's own failed leadership."
According to Boehner's spokesman, Mike Steel, "Republicans in the House have voted — twice — to replace President Obama's sequester with smarter spending cuts. The White House needs to spend less time explaining to the press how bad the sequester will be and more time actually working to stop it."
