Heinrich Backs Proposal To Avert The Sequester And Reduce the Deficit

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is backing a proposal to replace arbitrary and dangerous spending cuts known as “sequestration” with a balanced approach of reasonable spending cuts and revenue increases.

“Taking action immediately to avoid these harmful and arbitrary cuts is the only responsible course of action. And make no mistake, what’s at stake are thousands of New Mexico jobs and vital services for children, seniors, and our men and women in uniform,” said Sen. Heinrich. “We can and must avert these cuts by pairing sensible spending reductions with reasonable revenue increases.”

The proposal, the American Family Economic Protection Act, would eliminate through January 2, 2014, all of the deep, across-the-board spending cuts without increasing the long-term deficit. Half the cost of eliminating the sequestration would be offset through smaller spending cuts, divided equally between defense and non-defense programs and spread out over a longer period of time.  The other half of the cost would be offset with new revenue generated by adopting the Buffett Rule—which ensures millionaires do not pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than typical middle-class families—along with other provisions that would eliminate an oil industry tax loophole and deny deductions to companies that ship jobs overseas. 

“Limping from one self-made crisis to another is no way to govern. We must come together on a reasonable long-term plan to get our federal finances in order – which is what the threat of sequestration was intended to force us to do. But some Congressional Republicans now want to revise history and force the country into deep spending cuts that could damage our economy and security rather than ask millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. I hope that those Republicans who agree that these across-the-board cuts would be damaging come to the table to pass this balanced effort to stop them,” said Sen. Heinrich.

According to a recent White House report, if sequestration were to take effect, some examples of the impacts on New Mexico this year alone are:

Military Readiness:In New Mexico, approximately 7,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $42 million in total. 

Head Start:Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 500 children in New Mexico, reducing access to critical early education.

Nutrition for Seniors:New Mexico would lose approximately $401,000 to help provide meals for seniors.

Protections for Clean Air and Clean Water:New Mexico would lose about $1,260,000 to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste.

Teachers and Schools:  New Mexico will lose approximately $6.1 million for primary and secondary education, putting around 80 teacher and aide jobs at risk.  In addition about 12,000 fewer students would be served and approximately 30 fewer schools would receive funding.