Sequestration Threat Having An Effect
From the
Washington Post (emphasis added):
The drastic $85 billion in automatic spending cuts Congress
approved in hopes of heading off another deficit showdown may or may not
occur, but federal agencies say the threat has
been disrupting government for months as officials take costly and inefficient steps to prepare. ...
Office of Management and Budget spokesman Steven Posner declined to
comment on the planning costs. But Jeffrey Zients, the OMB’s acting
budget director, warned lawmakers last summer that any planning “would
necessarily divert scarce resources” from other important missions and
priorities, “to say nothing of the disruptive effects this exercise
would have” on federal workers and contractors. Any preparations “could
inadvertently trigger some of the negative effects of sequestration even
if sequestration never happens,” he said. ...
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Sunday that he thinks the cuts are inevitable ...
Some federal projects meant to improve public services have been
stopped outright, and others have been abruptly delayed. The concern is
that investing money now might be risky if it’s not there in two months.
Thousands of backlogged cases at the Social Security office in
Rochester, N.Y., will remain that way after a long-awaited plan to
double the number of judges handling hearings and appeals was put on
hold ...
“They came right out and told us, ‘We’d love to do it, but we don’t know
if we’re going to have the money,’ ” employee Timothy Flavin recalled
of the September decision.
1 comment:
SSA routinely shifts cases around to deal with sizeable backlogs in a particular office; if Rochester needs extra help, it will receive it.
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