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Oh, teh stupid...it burns us. Here's what John Boehner said at a press conference on Monday afternoon:
REPORTER QUESTION: "Do you have a sense of how many jobs will be lost as a result of the sequester?"
HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: "Uh, I do not. But I can tell you this: If we don't solve the spending problem here in Washington, there'll be tens of millions of jobs in the future that won't happen because of the debt load that's being laid on the backs of our kids and our grandkids."
So the Speaker of the House of Representatives is now insisting that we must endure the sequester, yet he doesn't have the slightest idea how many jobs will be cut if the automatic spending cuts are allowed to kick in. I guess it's time to fill him in. In Speaker Boehner's home state of Ohio, there will be nearly 30,000 furloughs. But, hey, he does know that tens of millions of imaginary jobs that have yet to be created are on the line if we don't cut spending starting right now.
Here are some detailed examples of the impact on Ohio this year alone if the sequester takes effect:
-Teachers and Schools: Ohio will lose approximately $25.1 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 350 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 34,000 fewer students would be served and approximately 100 fewer schools would receive funding.
-Education for Children with Disabilities: In addition, Ohio will lose approximately $22 million in funds for about 270 teachers, aides, and staff who help children with disabilities.
-Work-Study Jobs: Around 3,320 fewer low income students in Ohio would receive aid to help them finance the costs of college and around 1,450 fewer students will get work-study jobs that help them pay for college.
-Head Start: Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 2,500 children in Ohio, reducing access to critical early education. 2
-Protections for Clean Air and Clean Water: Ohio would lose about $6,865,000 in environmental funding to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste. In addition, Ohio could lose another $981,000 in grants for fish and wildlife protection.
-Military Readiness: In Ohio, approximately 26,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $161.4 million in total.
-Army: Base operation funding would be cut by about $1.9 million in Ohio.
-Air Force: Funding for Air Force operations in Ohio would be cut by about $3 million.
-Law Enforcement and Public Safety Funds for Crime Prevention and Prosecution: Ohio will lose about $455,000 in Justice Assistance Grants that support law enforcement, prosecution and courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, and crime victim and witness initiatives.
-Job Search Assistance to Help those in Ohio find Employment and Training: Ohio will lose about $1,786,000 in funding for job search assistance, referral, and placement, meaning around 57,100 fewer people will get the help and skills they need to find employment.
-Child Care: Up to 800 disadvantaged and vulnerable children could lose access to child care, which is also essential for working parents to hold down a job.
-Vaccines for Children: In Ohio around 5,040 fewer children will receive vaccines for diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough, influenza, and Hepatitis B due to reduced funding for vaccinations of about $344,000.
-Public Health: Ohio will lose approximately $1,102,000 in funds to help upgrade its ability to respond to public health threats including infectious diseases, natural disasters, and biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological events. In addition, Ohio will lose about $3,310,000 in grants to help prevent and treat substance abuse, resulting in around 4200 fewer admissions to substance abuse programs. And the Ohio
-State Department of Health will lose about $302,000 resulting in around 7,600 fewer HIV tests.
-STOP Violence Against Women Program: Ohio could lose up to $245,000 in funds that provide services to victims of domestic violence, resulting in up to 900 fewer victims being served.
-Nutrition Assistance for Seniors: Ohio would lose approximately $823,000 in funds that provide meals for seniors.
At least if Speaker Boehner runs into a furloughed defense worker, or an elementary school kid whose teacher just got laid off, a young mother whose children just got kicked out of Head Start, or an elderly person who lost their one hot meal a day from Meals on Wheels, he has his sequester defense all worked out. Your children's grandchildren's great-grandchildren will thank him, no doubt.
