The White House on Sunday night released state-by-state reports fleshing out the expected damage from the sequester — the deep, indiscriminate spending cuts set to take effect this week. Party leaders have made no progress in striking a deal to avert them.
The reports details the consequences for popular areas of government like public health, education and research. It’s part of a broader public relations offensive to pressure Republicans to drop their opposition to raising revenue as part of a deal to avoid what leaders of both parties agree would be devastating consequences if the cuts go through.
“Unfortunately, many Republicans in Congress refuse to ask the wealthy to pay a little more by closing tax loopholes so that we can protect investments that are helping grow our economy and keep our country safe,” the reports say. “By not asking the wealthy to pay a little more, Republicans are forcing our children, seniors, troops, military families and the entire middle class to bear the burden of deficit reduction.”
The top lines: This year alone, across the country, 70,000 children would lose access to head start; 2,100 fewer food inspections could occur; as many as 12,000 scientists and students would be hit by cuts to research and innovation; up to 373,000 mentally ill adults and children would go untreated, and small businesses may see $900 million in reduced loan guarantees.
Security and law enforcement would also be hit. The White House estimates that the FBI could lose over 1,000 federal agents; customs and border patrol would effectively lose some 5,000 employees; and both the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration would have to furlough most of their workers.
House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) office immediately shot back at the White House.
“Republicans in the House have voted — twice — to replace President Obama’s sequester with smarter spending cuts,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner. “The White House needs to spend less time explaining to the press how bad the sequester will be and more time actually working to stop it.”
Click below to read the White House’s state-by-state reports (.pdf) of sequester damage.
1. Alabama
2. Alaska
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California
6. Colorado
7. Connecticut
8. Delaware
10. Florida
11. Georgia
12. Hawaii
13. Idaho
14. Illinois
15. Indiana
16. Iowa
17. Kansas
18. Kentucky
19. Louisiana
20. Maine
21. Maryland
22. Massachusetts
23. Michigan
24. Minnesota
25. Mississippi
26. Missouri
27. Montana
28. Nebraska
29. Nevada
30. New Hampshire
31. New Jersey
32. New Mexico
33. New York
34. North Carolina
35. North Dakota
36. Ohio
37. Oklahoma
38. Oregon
39. Pennsylvania
40. Rhode Island
41. South Carolina
42. South Dakota
43. Tennessee
44. Texas
45. Utah
46. Vermont
47. Virginia
48. Washington
49. West Virginia
50. Wisconsin
51. Wyoming
Sahil Kapur
Sahil Kapur is a congressional reporter for TPM. He previously covered politics and public policy for numerous publications including The Guardian and The Huffington Post. He can be reached at sahil [at] talkingpointsmemo.com.
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