Sequester Report Verifies Dire Consequences

The “OMB Report Pursuant to the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 ” is the final nail in the coffin for pollyannas still pretending that sequestration wouldn't be that bad. Indeed, it confirms what virtually every expert to study the problem has found — that such abrupt, indiscriminate cuts would be an economic and policy disaster for the United States of America.

CBO has predicted the sequester would help drag us back into recession. Moody’s is threatening to downgrade the U.S. debt rating. The Pentagon is warning of new dangers to our troops. The government did lift some of the veil of uncertainty surrounding sequestration, revealing what our country’s fall over the fiscal cliff will look like beginning in January, 2013.

While OMB says it would issue additional guidance as needed in the months ahead, industry needs additional details to make long-term business decisions today. From complex contractual issues to investment in personnel and training, facilities, materials and R&D, the closer we get to the sequester date without these details, the harder the fall will be.

Statement by Marion C. Blakey, President and CEO, Aerospace Industries Association