On Thursday, February 21st, Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) held a media roundtable discussion with community leaders from the 47th congressional district. These leaders from the education, healthcare, business, and transportation sectors discussed the impacts of the March 1st sequestration, which would cause across-the-board federal funding cuts of approximately 10% over the next 7 months.[[{"fid":"239","view_mode":"teaser","type":"media","attributes":{"height":"421","width":"480","style":"float: right;","alt":"Rep. Lowenthal at Sequestration Roundtable Event","title":"RepLowenthalSequestrationEvent","class":"media-element file-teaser"}}]]
”I still believe that there are ways to avoid the sequester, but we should all be aware of the potentially damaging effects it may have on our community,” said Congressman Lowenthal. “Alternatives such as the Van Hollen Amendment, which I support, would make responsible cuts, while increasing revenues by closing tax loopholes."
“We are facing the worst hand in the financial deck, and doing nothing places our economic recovery at risk and is especially dangerous for America’s small businesses. This risky gambling would mean fewer jobs, fewer teachers, fewer doctors, less loan guarantees to small businesses, and less funding for our national security.”
The March 1st deadline will trigger automatic cuts to agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
"Sequestration may mean FAA, TSA and CBP furloughs, which would translate to a reduction in staff and services to levels that can be safely managed by remaining personnel. This may slow travel with greater expense involved," remarked Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez.
LGB airport is directly responsible for creating 40,000 jobs in the region. The sequester could force the FAA to furlough up to 10 percent of their workforce.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has estimated that Title I education funds, roughly 14.5% of California schools’ revenue stream, would be cut by $750 million. According to the California Superintendent of Schools, the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) and Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) will endure $7,581,658 and $2,618,581 in federal funding cuts, respectively.
“LBUSD has already increased class sizes, eliminated essential programs, delayed infrastructure improvements, and laid off far too many teachers,” said LBUSD President Dr. Felton Williams, “Sequestration will only deepen these cuts – hindering thousands of our students’ abilities to succeed.”
“Title I funding helps Garden Grove Unified provide the equitable educational support our students need. The $2.6 million in cuts is disturbing and unacceptable. Our students and families need a better plan,” said Garden Grove Unified Boardmember Bao Nguyen.
The Small Business Administration (SBA), will also be affected by sequestration—facing up to $540 million in cuts to loan guarantees to small businesses.
“When you deny a business the opportunity to invest in itself, you deny an opportunity for economic growth,” said Sandy Cajas, President and CEO of the Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Small businesses, especially Latino and Latina entrepreneurial pursuits, are too important to Southern California’s economy for them to suffer under these cuts.”
On February 15th, 2013 Congressman Lowenthal and 21 of his colleagues in Congress co-signed an open letter to Speaker Boehner, urging him to delay the congressional recess in order to reach a bipartisan agreement on the issue of sequestration.
When Congress comes back into session next week, they will have 8 days to reach an agreement before the March 1st sequestration.
Congressman Lowenthal is the freshman Representative from California’s 47th congressional district, which includes the cities of Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Cypress, Garden Grove, Westminster, Stanton, and portions of Buena Park.
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