Congress has cut discretionary spending by $1.5 trillion over ten years:
* FY 2011 Appropriations bills lowered CBO projected spending by $550B over 10 years.
* Budget Control Act (BCA) lowered future spending caps by additional $900B over 10 years.
Discretionary spending will sink to its lowest level as a share of GDP in 45 years.
The U.S. economy shrank by 0.1% in the 4th quarter of 2012. The single largest contributor to the contraction was the reduction in government spending and investment.
Cuts and caps are jeopardizing economic growth and services and investments critical to working and middle-class families… BEFORE SEQUESTRATION EVEN BEGINS:
EDUCATION
* Nearly 2 million students will go unserved by Title I aid after 10 years of BCA caps
* States will lose billions over 10 years and absorb cost of educating 600,000 more special needs students
PUBLIC SAFETY
* FEMA grants to prepare state and local first responders cut 55% from 2010-2012
* 2013 food import inspection rate will drop by 24% from 2011 level
* 1,000 fewer officers hired by COPS program in FY12 than at the FY10 level
SOCIAL SERVICES
* 1.1 million fewer households received home energy assistance in 2012 as oil prices rose 31%
* Construction of new housing units for the elderly halted
HEALTH
* NIH funding adjusted for inflation cut 8% since 2010, reducing number and size of research grants
* CDC drug and vaccine stockpile and grants to prepare for epidemics cut 14% in FY2012
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
* More than 300 Army Corps of Engineers flood control projects terminated or suspended since 2010
* 1.5 million fewer rural families receive improved water and waste disposal services since 2010
DEFENSE
* Joint Chiefs report readiness crisis including delayed maintenance and training cancellations
* Next generation weapons development delayed until end of combat operations in Afghanistan
* According to shipbuilders, 100,000 jobs will be lost solely due to Navy shipbuilding reductions
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
