Sequestration Affects Ohio

This content provided courtesy of Politics are Personal. Contact the author at PoliticsArePersonal (AT) Gmail (DOT) Com According to the White House, the following are the negative affects the Sequester will present to Ohio.  Of curse, these are not the “unintended consequences” that usually occur from other legislation; these are fully intended to hurt. Keep in mind, as you read, that the Sequestration was and is the Obama plan to cut spending.

Some of the cuts are quite vague in the estimated or approximate impact; but I think you will be very interested in all of them.

You read about the expected cuts in other states as well at http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2013/02/25/news/doc512ac5db6a98a630609376.txt

If sequestration were to take effect, some examples of the impacts on Ohio this year alone are:
¾ Teachers and Schools: Ohio will lose approximately $25.1 million in funding for primary and 
secondary education, putting around 350 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 34,000 
fewer students would be served and approximately 100 fewer schools would receive funding.

Education for Children with Disabilities: In addition, Ohio will lose approximately $22 million 
in funds for about 270 teachers, aides, and staff who help children with disabilities
¾ Work-Study Jobs: Around 3,320 fewer low income students in Ohio would receive aid to help 
them finance the costs of college and around 1,450 fewer students will get work-study jobs that 
help them pay for college. 

¾ Head Start: Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 2,500 children in Ohio, reducing access to critical early education.

Protections for Clean Air and Clean Water: Ohio would lose about $6,865,000 in environmental
funding to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from pesticides and
hazardous waste. In addition, Ohio could lose another $981,000 in grants for fish and wildlife
protection.
¾ Military Readiness: In Ohio, approximately 26,000 civilian Department of Defense employees
would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $161.4 million in total.
Army: Base operation funding would be cut by about $1.9 million in Ohio.
Air Force: Funding for Air Force operations in Ohio would be cut by about $3 million.
¾ Law Enforcement and Public Safety Funds for Crime Prevention and Prosecution: Ohio will
lose about $455,000 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.
¾ Job Search Assistance to Help those in Ohio find Employment and Training: Ohio will lose
about $1,786,000 in funding for job search assistance, referral, and placement, meaning around
57,100 fewer people will get the help and skills they need to find employment.
¾ Child Care: Up to 800 disadvantaged and vulnerable children could lose access to child care,
which is also essential for working parents to hold down a job.
¾ Vaccines for Children: In Ohio around 5,040 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 $344,000.
¾ Public Health: Ohio will lose approximately $1,102,000 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, Ohio will lose about $3,310,000 in grants to
help prevent and treat substance abuse, resulting in around 4200 fewer admissions to substance
abuse programs. And the Ohio State Department of Health will lose about $302,000 resulting in
around 7,600 fewer HIV tests.
¾ STOP Violence Against Women Program: Ohio could lose up to $245,000 in funds that provide
services to victims of domestic violence, resulting in up to 900 fewer victims being served.
¾ Nutrition Assistance for Seniors: Ohio would lose approximately $823,000 in funds that provide
meals for seniors

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) now calculates that sequestration will require an annual 
reduction of roughly 5 percent for nondefense programs and roughly 8 percent for defense programs. 
However, given that these cuts must be achieved over only seven months instead of 12, the effective 
percentage reductions will be approximately 9 percent for nondefense programs and 13 percent for 
defense programs. These large and arbitrary cuts will have severe impacts across the government.
  
x Cuts to education: Our ability to teach our kids the skills they’ll need for the jobs of the future 
would be put at risk. 70,000 young children would lose access to Head Start, 10,000 teacher 
jobs would be put at risk, and funding for up to 7,200 special education teachers, aides, and 
staff could be cut. 
x Cuts to small business: Small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs in America. Instead 
of helping small businesses expand and hire, the automatic cuts would reduce loan guarantees 
to small businesses by up to approximately $900 million. 
x Cuts to food safety: Outbreaks of food borne illness are a serious threat to families and public 
health. If sequestration takes effect, up to 2,100 fewer food inspections could occur, putting 
families at risk and costing billions in lost food production.

x Cuts to research and innovation: To compete for the jobs of the future and ensure that the 
next breakthroughs to find cures for critical diseases are developed right here in America, we 
need to continue to lead the world in research and innovation. Most Americans with chronic 
diseases don’t have a day to lose, but under sequestration progress towards cures would be 
delayed and several thousand researchers could lose their jobs. Up to 12,000 scientists and 
students would also be impacted.

x Cuts to mental health: If sequestration takes effect, up to 373,000 seriously mentally ill adults 
and seriously emotionally disturbed children could go untreated. This would likely lead to 
increased hospitalizations, involvement in the criminal justice system, and homelessness for 
these individuals.

More detailed explanations of these cuts as well as additional areas that will be impacted include: 
Security and Safety  
x FBI and other law enforcement – The FBI and other law enforcement entities would see a 
reduction in capacity equivalent to more than 1,000 Federal agents. This loss of agents would 
significantly impact our ability to combat violent crime, pursue financial crimes, secure our 
borders, and protect national security.

x Customs and border patrol – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would not be able to 
maintain current staffing levels of border patrol agents and CBP officers as mandated by Congress. 
CBP would have to reduce its work hours by the equivalent of over 5,000 border patrol agents and 
the equivalent of over 2,750 CBP officers. Funding and staffing reductions would increase wait 
times at airports, weaken security between land ports of entry, limit CBP’s ability to collect revenue owed to the Federal government, and slow screening and entry for those traveling into the 

United States. At the major gateway airports, average wait times could increase by 30-50 percent. 
At the nation’s busiest airports, like Newark, JFK, LAX, and Chicago O’Hare, peak wait times 
could grow to over 4 hours or more. On the southwest land border, our biggest ports of entry in 
California and Texas could face wait times of 5 hours or more during peak holiday weekends and 
travel periods. And at our seaports, delays in container examinations could increase from 2-3 days 
to 4-5 days, resulting in congestion at terminals, increased transaction costs to the trade 
community, and reduced availability of consumer goods and raw materials critical to our economy. 
x Aviation safety – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would be forced to undergo a 
funding cut of more than $600 million. This action would force the FAA to undergo an immediate 
retrenchment of core functions by reducing operating costs and eliminating or reducing services to 
various segments of the flying community. A vast majority of FAA’s nearly 47,000 employees 
would be furloughed for approximately one day per pay period, with a maximum of two days per 
pay period. The furlough of a large number of air traffic controllers and technicians would require 
a reduction in air traffic to a level that could be safely managed by the remaining staff, resulting in 
slower air traffic in major cities, as well as delays and disruptions across the country during the 
critical summer travel season. 
x Aviation security – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) would reduce its frontline 
workforce, which would substantially increase passenger wait times at airport security checkpoints. 
TSA would need to initiate a hiring freeze for all transportation security officer positions in March, 
eliminate overtime, and furlough its 50,000 officers for up to seven days. 
x Emergency responders – FEMA would need to reduce funding for State and local grants that 
support firefighter positions and State and local emergency management personnel, hampering our 
ability to respond to natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy and other emergencies. 
Research and Innovation 
x NIH research – The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be forced to delay or halt vital 
scientific projects and make hundreds of fewer research awards. Since each research award 
supports up to seven research positions, several thousand personnel could lose their jobs. Many 
projects would be difficult to pursue at reduced levels and would need to be cancelled, putting prior 
year investments at risk. These cuts would delay progress on the prevention of debilitating chronic 
conditions that are costly to society and delay development of more effective treatments for 
common and rare diseases affecting millions of Americans. 
x NSF research – The National Science Foundation (NSF) would issue nearly 1,000 fewer research 
grants and awards, impacting an estimated 12,000 scientists and students and curtailing critical 
scientific research. 
x New drug approvals – The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) would face 
delays in translating new science and technology into regulatory policy and decision-making, 
resulting in delays in new drug approvals. The FDA would likely also need to reduce operational 
support for meeting review performance goals, such as the recently negotiated user fee goals on 
new innovative prescription drugs and medical devices.
Economic Growth 
x Small business assistance – Small Business Administration (SBA) loan guarantees would be cut 
by up to approximately $900 million, constraining financing needed by small businesses to 
maintain and expand their operations and create jobs.  
x Economic development – The Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) ability to leverage 
private sector resources to support projects that spur local job creation would be restricted, likely 
resulting in more than 1,000 fewer jobs created than expected and leaving approximately $50 
million in private sector investment untapped. 

x Oil and gas permitting - Development of oil and gas on Federal lands and waters would slow 
down, due to cuts in programs at the Department of the Interior (DOI) and other agencies that plan 
for new projects, conduct environmental reviews, issue permits and inspect operations. Leasing of 
new Federal lands for future development would also be delayed, with fewer resources available 
for agencies to prepare for and conduct lease sales.
Government Services 
x Food safety – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could conduct 2,100 fewer inspections at 
domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture food products while USDA’s Food Safety and 
Inspection Service (FSIS) may have to furlough all employees for approximately two weeks. These 
reductions could increase the number and severity of safety incidents, and the public could suffer 
more food borne illness, such as the recent salmonella in peanut butter outbreak and the E. coli 
illnesses linked to organic spinach, as well as cost the food and agriculture sector millions of 
dollars in lost production volume.  
x Veterans services – Although the Department of Veterans Affairs is exempt from sequestration, the 
Department of Labor’s Veterans Transition Assistance Program, which serves over 150,000 
veterans a year, would have to reduce operations – leaving thousands of transitioning veterans 
unserved as they move from active duty to civilian life. The Jobs for Veterans State Grants 
Program would also experience cuts, translating into a reduction in the capacity to serve tens of 
thousands of veterans in their efforts to find civilian employment.  
x National parks – Many of the 398 national parks across the country would be partially or fully 
closed, with shortened operating hours, closed facilities, reduced maintenance, and cuts to visitor 
services. These closures will hurt the many small businesses and regional economies that depend 
on nearby national parks to attract visitors to their region. 
Education
x Title I education funds – Title I education funds would be eliminated for more than 2,700 schools, 
cutting support for nearly 1.2 million disadvantaged students. This funding reduction would put the 
jobs of approximately 10,000 teachers and aides at risk. Students would lose access to individual 
instruction, afterschool programs, and other interventions that help close achievement gaps. 
x Special education (IDEA) – Cuts to special education funding would eliminate Federal support for 
more than 7,200 teachers, aides, and other staff who provide essential instruction and support to 
preschool and school-aged students with disabilities.

x Head Start – Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 
70,000 children, reducing access to critical early education. Community and faith based 
organizations, small businesses, local governments, and school systems would have to lay off over 
14,000 teachers, teacher assistants, and other staff. 
Economic Security
x Social Security applicant and beneficiary services – The Social Security Administration (SSA) 
would be forced to curtail service to the public and reduce program oversight efforts designed to 
make sure benefits are paid accurately and to the right people. Potential effects on SSA operations 
could include a reduction in service hours to the public, and a substantial growth in the backlog of 
Social Security disability claims. 
x Senior meals – Federally-assisted programs like Meals on Wheels would be able to serve 4 million 
fewer meals to seniors. These meals contribute to the overall health and well-being of participating 
seniors, including those with chronic illnesses that are affected by diet, such as diabetes and heart 
disease, and frail seniors who are homebound. The meals can account for 50 percent or more of 
daily food for the majority of participants.  
x Nutrition assistance for women, infants and children – Approximately 600,000 women and 
children would be dropped from the Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition 
Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) from March through September. At least 1,600 
State and local jobs could be lost as a result.

x Child care– Cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Child Care and Development 
Fund would leave 30,000 low-income children without child care subsidies, denying them access 
to child development programs and ending a crucial work support for many families. 
x Rental assistance – The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Housing 
Choice Voucher program, which provides rental assistance to very low-income families, would 
face a significant reduction in funding, which would place about 125,000 families at immediate 
risk of losing their permanent housing.  
x Emergency unemployment compensation – People receiving Emergency Unemployment 
Compensation benefits would see their benefits cut by nearly 11 percent. Affected long-term 
unemployed individuals would lose an average of more than $450 in benefits that they and their 
families count on while they search for another job. Smaller unemployment checks will also have a 
negative impact on the economy as a whole. Economists have estimated that every dollar in 
unemployment benefits generates $2 in economic activity. 
x Homelessness programs – More than 100,000 formerly homeless people, including veterans, 
would be removed from their current housing and emergency shelter programs, putting them at risk 
of returning to the streets.
Public Health 
x Mental health and substance abuse services – Cuts to the Mental Health Block Grant program 
would result in over 373,000 seriously mentally ill adults and seriously emotionally disturbed 
children not receiving needed mental health services. This cut would likely lead to increased 
hospitalizations, involvement in the criminal justice system, and homelessness for these 
individuals. In addition, close to 8,900 homeless persons with serious mental illness would not get 
the vital outreach, treatment, housing, and support they need through the Projects for Assistance in 
Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program. 
x AIDS and HIV treatment and prevention – Cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program could 
result in 7,400 fewer patients having access to life saving HIV medications. And approximately 
424,000 fewer HIV tests could be conducted by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) State grantees, 
which could result in increased future HIV transmissions, deaths from HIV, and costs in health 
care.  
x Tribal services – The Indian Health Service and Tribal hospitals and clinics would be forced to 
provide 3,000 fewer inpatient admissions and 804,000 fewer outpatient visits, undermining needed 
health care in Tribal communities.   

First, keep in mind that all this money belongs to us! Would you agree with the areas cut? It will be interesting to see if Congress, and O, have the guts to follow through on the sequestration. I predict that they will all fold and do nothing.

If you don’t think you are over taxed and under represented; how did your representative vote on the sequestration?

This content provided courtesy of Politics are Personal. Contact the author at PoliticsArePersonal (AT) Gmail (DOT) Com