How sequestration could affect Douglas

By Trisha Maldonado
Douglas Dispatch
Published/Last Modified on Thursday, March 7, 2013 10:48 AM MST


Longer waits at the Douglas Port of Entry and less Border Patrol protecting the Douglas/Agua Prieta border will be seen by late April.



On March 1 President Obama signed an order making the budget cuts known as sequestration official and giving the federal government the authority to begin implementing $85 billion in across-the-board decreases.

In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that if they couldn’t agree on a plan to reduce the United States deficit by $4 trillion this also included the $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction both the Democrats and Republicans parties have already accomplished over the last few years, about $1 trillion in automatic, random and across the board budget cuts would take effect in 2013 and continue until September 2013.

“The whole design of these arbitrary cuts was to make them so unattractive and unappealing that Democrats and Republicans would actually get together and find a good compromise of sensible cuts as well as closing tax loopholes and so forth,” President Obama said in a press release. “And so this was all designed to say we can't do these bad cuts; let’s do something smarter. That was the whole point of this so-called sequestration."

These vast budget cuts will not only have an impact on protecting our borders but also on many federally funded programs across Arizona.

Arizona will lose approximately $17.7 million in funding for primary and secondary education, roughly 240 teachers and their aides may lose their jobs. In addition about 19,000 fewer students would be served and nearly 70 schools would lose funding.

Furthermore, Arizona will lose approximately $10 million in funds for about 120 teachers, aides and staff who help children with disabilities.

Around 2,310 fewer low income students in Arizona would receive aid to help them finance the costs of college and around 330 fewer students will get work-study jobs that help them pay for college.

Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for an estimated 1,000 children in Arizona, reducing access to critical early education.

Arizona is also in danger of losing about $2.1 million in environmental funding to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste. Arizona could also lose another $1.1 million in grants for fish and wildlife protection.

About 10,000 Arizona civilian employees for the Department of Defense employees would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $52.5 million in total.

Base operation funding would be cut by about $43 million and Air Force operations would be cut by about $6 million in Arizona.

An estimated $298,000 would be cut 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.

Funding for job search assistance, referral, and placement would be cut by $781,000. These cuts would affect around 26,360 people from getting help and skills they need to find employment.

Up to 500 children could lose access to child care, which is also essential for working parents to hold down a job.

In Arizona around 2,570 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 $176,000.

Arizona will lose approximately $611,000 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.

Arizona will also see a lose of about $1.9 million in grants to help prevent and treat substance abuse, the Arizona State Department of Health Services will lose about $186,000, and another $132,000 in funding for victims of domestic violence.

In addition Arizona would lose over $1 million in funds that provide meals for seniors.

The President has proposed a plan he believe will have a less effect on the American people.

This plan will avoid sequestration's harmful budget cuts and reduce the deficit in a balanced way by cutting spending, finding savings in entitlement programs and closing tax loopholes.

“I do believe that we can and must replace these cuts with a more balanced approach that asks something from everybody,” President Obama said. “Smart spending cuts; entitlement reform; tax reform that makes the tax code more fair for families and businesses without raising tax rates -- all so that we can responsibly lower the deficit without laying off workers, or forcing parents to scramble for childcare, or slashing financial aid for college students.

Comments

    me wrote on Mar 19, 2013 10:19 AM:

    " There's a quick fix to the problem. DON'T allow all the kids who come to school here cross. there will be fewer lines, and less time crossing the border! I'm a tax payer, hard worker and live here legally. why can't they? "

    Read the Rules wrote on Mar 15, 2013 10:52 AM:

    " The 5th rule listed by the Dispatch is DO NOT POST Comments unrelated to the story. Well Sequestration refers to cuts in the federal budget. So why do "Concerned and Workers" make comments about thing they don't like in local government. The posts should have never been printed. I have posted thing in the past that have meet all the rules, yet the Dispatch still censored them. I guess the Dispatch doesn't believe in 1st Amendment. Remember the right to a free press is also found in this amendment. "

    workers wrote on Mar 10, 2013 4:23 PM:

    " Why do we need three Administration Secretary's? Do we need a full time Attorney? We had outside Council fees over 300,000.00 up until 2012, also we had Consultant fees. Why do we have and in house Attorney, when we have to pay such high fees for outside advice and consultant fees? The City Manager should be able to ask the advice of the consultant and we won't have the Attorney salary, all he does is ask what he should do. Where is the TRANSPARENCY from the Mayor and Council about our debt year to date that we owe?
    We give big pay increases to the City Clerk $17,000.00. Highest ever in the salary for the City Manager, who doesn't have any experience a as a Manager. The talk on the street is that there will be layoffs of the workers , why don't we see cuts in the Administration , not the workers who are the backbone of the city, yes they received a 2% pay increase to see it taken away by the 2% payroll tax, so you do the math it doesn't take a GENIUS. "

    Concerned..... wrote on Mar 8, 2013 8:21 PM:

    " HR can operate with only 1 receptionist;Mayor's office can operate with 2 receptionists;Code Enforcement can operate with 1 officer, just means Scott has to get his hands out of his pockets.Parks/cemetary can be contracted.Water department can operate with 1 receptionist,even if it means it closes for lunch;no need to have 2 people to check water meters.Do we really need lights during the day? "

    SAM wrote on Mar 7, 2013 4:11 PM:

    " This is where our TAX money is allocated just incase you didn't know: 2011 Foreign Aid Cairo=1.5 billion,Afghanistan=3.9 billion, Pakistan=3.1 billion, Israel=3billion, Russia=68.7million,China=12.9million,Nigeria=647.7million and Cuba=20 million. "

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