Rep. Marcy Kaptur believes deep budget cuts will have a wide negative impact on Ohioans in her district.
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TOLEDO -- The day many never expected to arrive is here.
Sequester day brings deep cuts in government spending, required by law, all because the president and Congress could not come to an agreement on how to rein in spending and raise more revenue.
$85 million in across-the-board, forced budget cuts were signed into effect Friday evening, and much of those spending cuts will have a wide-reaching impact on Ohioans and jobs in the Buckeye state.
Jim Blue asked Ohio's 9th District Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur just how the Sequester is expected to hurt the residents she represents. Though she doesn't anticipate immediate ramifications, Kaptur says the cuts' impact will be wide. "Much to my dismay...over 16,000 citizens in our region will lose about 10% of unemployment benefits if they are out of work," Kaptur told Blue in a satellite interview from Washington, DC. "It means, statewide, those who serve us in the 180th Fighter Wing, as well as at Wright Patterson Air Force Base...there will be over 26,000 Ohioans who will be furloughed for up to 22 days."
Kaptur is worried middle-to-lower income citizens will be paying the price. "This means jobs. This means contracts not being signed. This means people's lives being affected," said Kaptur. "Bottom line, it means less purchasing power in our economy."
The mandatory cuts are also expected lead to a decrease in funding to the Lucas County Health Department of more than $500,000. Commissioner Dr. David Grossman says the cuts will affect 14 programs at a total value of $550,902.WATCH Kaptur's entire interview above.
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