The across-the-board federal budget cuts known as sequestration will hurt everything from the local barbershop to the largest manufacturers in Northeast Pennsylvania, said members of a panel at Sen. Bob Casey's office Friday in downtown Scranton.
With no deal between Congress and the White House in sight and just hours before sequestration kicked in at midnight, the Democratic senator and a cross-section of local civic leaders struck a dire tone.
"We don't have a full sense of what will happen," Mr. Casey said. "If this goes a day or week, it will have an impact. If it goes six months, the effect will be devastating."
As the furloughs and cuts begin, sequestration will have an immediate impact not just on the government employees, but on contractors, and the communities where they live and spend.
Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce president Austin Burke said as facilities such as the Tobyhanna Army Depot and General Dynamics cut back purchasing and pare down payroll, the pain will extend deep into the private sector.
Small Business Administration-backed funding will be slashed, denying an important part of financing from small businesses, he said.
Defense-related facilities alone employ 3,600 in Lackawanna County and 10,000 through the region.
One of those is General Dynamics Land Systems in Archbald, which produces suspensions and other components of the Abrams tanks and Stryker vehicles. United Auto Workers Local 1191 President Ken Klinkel said even the possibility of sequestration has already hurt the plant, which had been working for a year for a shot at making additional components for the Pentagon. A long-awaited visit from government officials was canceled recently because of sequestration-related travel restriction on federal employees. The loss of U.S. manufacturing capacity is worrisome, Mr. Klinkel said.
"This threatens our ability to make weapons we need to defend ourselves," he said. "It threatens our facility's survival." Mr. Casey dismissed the notion that sequestration should be allowed to happen, calling the across-the-board cuts thoughtless and foolish because they cut all programs - including those that are efficient and deliver clear benefits to society, such as the National Institutes for Health. He bristled at the notion that the sequester forces businesslike discipline on government, saying that no business person would blindly cut expenses, but rather carefully cut them.
The cop walking the beat may seem far away from Washington, D.C., but Acting Scranton Police Chief Charles Graziano said the federal government cuts will hurt his department. Local police collaborate regularly with federal law enforcement such as the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals. They are regular partners, sharing information and even equipment. To the extent the work of those agencies is cut, it will impair local police efforts, as well.
"We are always called upon to do more with less," he said. "But we risk losing control of the criminal element."
Mr. Casey remains hopeful, calling sequestration a new chapter. Bipartisan talks could solve both the sequester and the March 28 deadline for a resolution to continue running the federal government. Such a solution would give lawmakers some breathing room to tackle tax reform, which would lead to a simpler, fairer tax system that provided new deficit-cutting revenue to the federal government.
"This is the best year to do tax reform," he said, adding "2013 gives us a critical window."
Of the more than $2.5 trillion cut from the federal deficit, 70 percent was from budget cuts and 30 percent from new revenue such as taxes. Mr. Casey said deficit reduction should be split 50-50 between budget cuts and new revenue.
Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com
Charitable organizations and nonprofits are bracing for a hit to their finances and a spike in demand for their services as a result of the sequestration, the automatic $85 million slashed from the federal budget that took place Friday.
Such organizations are still reeling from five consecutive years of state budget cuts and increasing demand for services by families and individuals sidelined by the recession. The sequestration will make matters even worse, said Gary Drapek, director of the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties.
"Sequestration will not only mean loss of funds - there will be more people out of work," he said.The United Way of Pennsylvania, culling from a variety of sources, estimated the impact of sequestration on public and social services in Pennsylvania. Here are examples of what they found:
-âEducation: Pennsylvania will lose approximately $26.4 million in funding for primary and secondary education, which places at risk 360 teacher and aide jobs. Children with disabilities would be particularly hard hit with $21.4 million in funds for about 260 specialty teachers, aides and staff. Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 2,300 state children.
-âJob training: Pennsylvania will lose about $866,000 in funding for job search assistance, referral and placement, meaning around 36,860 fewer people will get the help and skills they need to find employment.
-âChild care: Up to 1,800 children could lose access to child care, which for many working parents is essential to them keeping a job.
-âHealth care: The state will lose $2.9 million in grants to help prevent and treat substance abuse, resulting in about 3,500 fewer admissions to substance abuse programs. The state will lose $639,000, resulting in about 16,000 fewer HIV tests.
-âDomestic violence: The state will see $271,000 cut from funds that provide services to victims of domestic violence, resulting in up to 1,000 fewer victims being served.
-âSeniors: Pennsylvania would lose approximately $849,000 in funds that provide meals for seniors.
Gov. Tom Corbett has said the state can not cover the shortfall for the charitable groups.
While the budget debate and impasse in Washington, D.C., doesn't surprise Mr. Drapek, what does is Congress going home on break.
"What amazes me is the lack of urgency out of Washington," he said.