Deadline coming up Friday with no deal in sight
The deadline to reach an agreement and avoid the massive spending cuts that have been all the talk in Washington is just three days away. If those cuts wind up going into effect, Texas will feel its impacts.
The most pain in the state will be felt in the military, with furloughs and cuts to Army base and Air Force operations. Retired Army General Bill McClain has his concerns about what could happen.
“The Navy won’t be deploying ships like they’d normally do. That would cut our presence in different places around the world,” McClain said.
McClain also told KTRH the military cuts will be felt quickly.
“The concern is the readiness of the force. It’s almost a throwback to the 1970’s, when we had a hollow Army,” McClain said.
Law enforcement will be hit as well. Ray Hunt of the Houston Police Officer's Union says he doesn't like hearing that.
“We are at the bare bones. Additional cuts would be harmful,” Hunt said.
Hunt, though, says he has no other choice but to accept cuts if they occur.
“I wouldn’t like it, but I know that cuts have to be made and we respect that,” Hunt explained.
The state budget will lose 334 million dollars because of the budget battle in Washington, mostly in cuts to public education programs. The sequester would affect 67.8 million dollars in funding for primary and secondary education in Texas.
