Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus took to the floor of the House of Representatives on Monday evening and spoke against the federal budget cuts which went into effect Friday, according to the delegate’s office.
The cuts, also known as a budget sequestration, are part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 that mandated automatic, uniform cuts as a way of pressuring Republicans and Democrats to reach an agreement on deficit reduction.
In the current budget year, $85 billion dollars appropriated for spending will be set aside, or "sequestered," and will need to be cut from the federal budgets. Cuts will be across the board, affecting both domestic and defense spending, unless Congress replaces or eliminates the cuts with new legislation.
President Barack Obama is proposing a mix of budget cuts and increased tax revenue from eliminating corporate subsidies and high-income tax breaks, and Republicans are insisting there be no new revenues and the budget cuts be replaced by other budget cuts.
No agreement was reached by the March 1 deadline and the cuts are beginning to go into effect.
“I think that we are smart enough if the will is there to come together and reason and come to a far better approach than this blunt instrument that is now being applied," Christensen said, according to her office.
“We stand to lose $13 million, while we do not fully participate in all of the federal programs that states do and many programs are capped regardless of need,” she said about the impact of the cuts on the territory.
Christensen said there would be losses to Education, Headstart, WIC, Upward Bound and services to those with HIV/AIDS, among other vital programs. “All of these cuts will hurt individuals and families,” she said. “But like everywhere else, they will have ripple effects across the entire community.”
Federal agencies in the territory will have to make some severe funding decisions if this impasse is not resolved, she said, adding she is "still hopeful that during the budget process that will occur this month that we will find a path out of this troublesome road that we have embarked upon.”
All congressional budgets have been reduced by 8.2 percent and Christensen said she has had to furlough staff for two days a month beginning immediately. “Our offices will remain open five days a week, but each of my staff will have two payless paydays each month until the sequester is resolved,” she said.
