The federal budget sequester that goes into effect tomorrow — unless Congress can agree on a way to tackle the national deficit by the March 1 deadline — will cut Rhode Island’s federal funding by more than $39 million in this fiscal year, according to a White House report.
If the sequester is not prevented, education, military spending, public health and humanitarian programs will all see reductions in federal funds.
The Rhode Island Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution yesterday to ask Congress to come to a decision about budget cuts in order to avoid the sequester, according to a state press release.
If Congress does not prevent the sequester, the state’s education programs will lose $2.4 million in funding, endangering 30 teaching jobs and funding for 10 schools. These cuts will be accompanied by a $2.1 million decrease in funding for about 20 teachers and aides who work with disabled students, according to the report. Financial aid and work-study programs, as well as the state’s Head Start program, which serves underprivileged and low-income children ages three to five, will also receive less from the federal government.
The military will see $31.5 million in cuts — more than any other area — resulting in the furloughing of “5,000 civilian Department of Defense employees,” according to the report. Army funding would also be cut by $800,000.
The state would lose more than $1.5 million in funds for environmental protection, including grants to safeguard fish and wildlife, the report said.
In the health sector, Rhode Island would lose $330,000 for combating substance abuse, $61,000 for HIV testing and $36,000 for children’s vaccinations. The state would not receive $101,000 that is designated to help “upgrade (the state’s) ability to respond to public health threats including infectious diseases, natural disasters” and other events, the report said.
The state would also lose $188,000 dedicated to providing meals to senior citizens, $126,000 earmarked for employment search aid and $22,000 for serving “victims of domestic violence,” the report said.
“I urge Congress to act swiftly to avoid making funding cuts which would be detrimental to our state’s economy, educational services, unemployment benefits and other services upon which Rhode Islanders rely,” Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed, D-Newport, said in a press release.
Members of the Senate said in the press release that they were concerned about the sequester’s implications for defense spending, the state’s economy and cuts to programs that aid underprivileged citizens.
On the national level, the sequester spells out $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts over the next 10 years, translating to “an annual reduction of roughly 5 percent for nondefense programs and roughly 8 percent for defense programs,” according to a White House report.
The sequester was originally scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1 but was pushed back to March by Congress as part of the fiscal cliff deal.
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