By Javier Manjarres
The $500 billion Department of Defense sequestration that is set to go into effect in 2013 is already an issue that is beginning to dominate national politics, as more members of congress and military experts continue to warn of the risk to national security, and loss of domestic jobs, the looming ten year billion dollar sequestration would cause.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has already reached out to Congress and asked them to think of creative debt reduction ideas, that would halt any defense cuts already slated to take place. Many states like North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, that are home to numerous military installation and employ thousands of civilians, are on edge about the possible economic hardships their respective states will suffer, were sequestration to be implemented.
Florida Congressman Steve Southerland says that “the planned relocation of about 22, F-22’s has been delayed coming from Holloman AFB (NM) to Tyndall AFB in (FL).” Southerland cites the production and funding of the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as being the problem, adding that the delivery of the F-22’s were scheduled for delivery in April 2013, but due to the potential defense cuts in the F-35 program, delivery has been pushed back to April 2014.
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Southerland points out that the military accounts for $80 billion a year in revenue to the Florida economy, and that the delays in funding will cause a “trickle down effect”, that would be felt all the way down the production line, putting at risk 1000 jobs that would be created in Bay County, Florida.
We were suppose to get those in April of 2013 that has now been pushed back to April of 2014. The reason for that is the production and the funding of the F-35. So when you have a delay in production, it delays movement all the way down the line, so we are seeing that these possible cuts to defense will have a trickle down effect.- Rep. Steve Southerland
