Today, Congressman Mike Turner released the following statement upon word that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction would not be delivering a plan to Congress on how to undertake $1.2 trillion in cuts as described in the Budget Control Act of 2011. Turner, who opposed raising the debt limit and slashing national security spending, continues to sound the alarm as to how this failure will impact the nation’s defense. Sequestration cuts to our defense will severely impact our armed forces and the state of Ohio:
“With the failure of the supercommittee, sequestration cuts will have serious implications for our national security. Specifically, Defense Department funding will be subject to $500 billion in cuts. As a nation we should be able to provide for our defense and balance our budget. One should not come at the expense of the other. That’s why I could not vote to raise the debt limit at the expense of our men and women in uniform.
“Furthermore the impacts to Ohio, home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, will not be felt lightly. Across Ohio estimates show that over 1,000 uniformed service members are set to lose their jobs, while over 6,000 Defense Department civilian personnel will lose theirs. The problem with sequestration is although the cuts don’t become official until January of 2013, the Defense Department must begin drawing down personnel immediately in order to meet their targets by that date. Our service members, civilian personnel and their families cannot wait while Congress plays chicken with these cuts to our nation’s defense.”