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Rockland And Westchester Will Not Escape Looming Sequestration Cuts

Congresswoman Nita Lowey warns education, emergency services, medical research and military programs will lose funds.

 

Congresswoman Nita Lowey spoke on Monday about the widespread impact in the Lower Hudson Valley if sequestration goes into effect as scheduled on Friday, March 1. She characterized the $85 billion across the board federal program cuts as “senseless.” 

In Rockland and Westchester counties, she predicted school districts would lose $4.4 million in federal funds.  On average, each school district would be cut by $100,000.

In Rockland, East Ramapo stands to lose $843,520 and Clarkstown would be cut by $121,614. The impact on Nyack would be $50,067, Nanuet $30,397 and Pearl River $33,620. In Westchester, White Plains, Port Chester/Rye and Lakeland would be the hardest hit with cuts of $156,363, $119,589 and $94,784 respectively. (See attached PDF for specifics on other school districts.)

Camp Smith in Cortland would receive $3.1 million less in federal funding. Out of the 62 National Institute of Health grants totaling $25 million that are earmarked for medical research in the two counties, $1.3 million of 5.3 percent would be cut over the next seven months.

We’re facing a self-inflicted economic wound, and action cannot wait,” said Lowey during a conference call. “I hope that the Republican leadership will come to the table so we can find a reasonable, bipartisan solution to avoid these senseless cuts. ”

Lowey said the effect of sequestration might not be felt for one or two weeks but then organizations will have to let people go because the funds will not be available to pay them. In the case of first responders, $860,000 would be trimmed from the training and equipment budgets for volunteer firefighters and law enforcement officers.

The State Criminal Assistance Program would not escape the cuts. The program, which covers jail, costs for local governments housing undocumented aliens who commit crimes, would be chopped by $62,955 in Westchester and $22,354 in Rockland.

Lowey said sequestration would result in national job losses up to 750,000, a slowing economy and cuts in services that will affect everyone. The ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee depicted sequestration as a Republican policy pushed forward by members of the Tea Party. She emphasized it is not the balanced approach required to addressing the federal deficit and debt.                                                                                                  


Tyler Durden February 26, 2013 at 02:57 pm
The first rule of fight club is, you don't talk about fight club.
Bob Zahm February 26, 2013 at 02:59 pm
@Nancy White - Actually, the problem is gov't spending and not revenue. Period.
"... if nothing else changes, spending in 2013 will be $3.6 trillion, an increase of nearly 2% over 2012, according to data from the CBO. That's because the sequester's "cuts" are actually just reductions in planned spending hikes." http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-perspective/013113-642705-federal-fiscal-austerity-is-a-myth.htm?p=full
Billy February 26, 2013 at 03:15 pm
But she was in office for almost 30 years and what's a career politician ever done for the people?
SouthOfNyack February 26, 2013 at 03:34 pm
Nita Lowey voted AGAINST the Budget Control Act of 2011, which includes the sequester cuts.
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll677.xml
SouthOfNyack February 26, 2013 at 04:08 pm
"...(is the problem) that the sequester exists or is it just that the cuts are not smart enough? i think in the conservative base, they don't buy the difference between the smart cuts and the dumb cuts, " --Ben Domenech, Founder, "Red State" (Conservative Blog)
Thanks, "Patriots." You are well trained.
jo February 26, 2013 at 04:23 pm
Bob I was aware that Oppenheimer had retired..my point was that she too was in office way tooooooooooo long.. as has Sandy Galef.. they become the Problem NOT the problem solvers
Billy February 26, 2013 at 05:08 pm
Aiden, not if you're a teacher & they're the ones who got Latimer elected. The public unions are putting a tight grip on NY politics and boy are they ever organized. You don't want to get those persnickety people up in arms. They even have their own political party, the Working Families Party.
Bob Zahm February 26, 2013 at 07:26 pm
Hey, I voted against Suzi as many times as I was able. I pointed out that she's no longer in office because the focus should be on Lowey. Billy's assertion, though, that George Latimer was elected based on the teachers is sour grapes. George was elected because he was preferred by the majority of people in his district - and many were turned off by Bob's smear attempts.
Bob Zahm February 26, 2013 at 07:34 pm
And her vote against them is a good thing? While it's consistent with her current stand, it is inconsistent with getting the Federal gov't's fiscal house in order.
Bob Zahm February 26, 2013 at 07:35 pm
The sequester cuts are absolutely not smart enough. However, when dealing with a majority party that's only focused on increasing taxes, any cuts at all are needed.
Bob Zahm February 26, 2013 at 07:37 pm
But Jo, she's gone now. Focus on the remaining problems - unfortunately, there are multiple of them including Shelly Silver and Dean Skelos
Francis T McVetty February 26, 2013 at 07:43 pm
Mike, "Go to NBC News Politics" are you serious ? NBC is part of the press office of the Obama administration.
SouthOfNyack February 26, 2013 at 08:13 pm
Bob Zahm said: "...the majority party (is) only focused on increasing taxes..."
Romney + Ryan ran for the White House on a platform that included closing loop holes for millionaires. Now, not so much? Why's that? Keeping a tax loop hole in place so that a hedge fund manager earning $10 Milliion a year can defer ALL income tax payable on that amount is now more important to Republicans than cuts to programs like Meals on Wheels, Head Start, etc? When Romney proposed closing loopholes it was ok. But Obama not so much? Kinda hypocritical, don'tcha think??? Insofar as cuts are concerned, the BCA of 2011 included $1.5 trillion in reductions in discretionary spending, producing lower interest payments on the debt.  The interest savings amount to about $250 billion, bringing the total deficit reduction achieved to date to more than $1.7 trillion, per the Center for Public Policy. Let's face it, ithe Republicans won't close the loopholes at this point because it could be construed by the right as a victory for Obama. And we just can't have that, can we.
Aidan February 26, 2013 at 08:26 pm
Billy, I was a teacher ... there's a shock. For a long time. And I saw what was happening to education for decades ... and it was alarming. Local control is just about gone and that was the result of a political/union effort. It still continues in NY, but other states are wising up. I don't know if NY will right itself before the entire system implodes.
Bob Zahm February 26, 2013 at 08:31 pm
@SouthOfNyack - The discussion is about what action to take NOW. Obama has already gotten $600billion (forecasted) in increased tax revenue without a single whack at the spending problem. Even better, Obama has said that the $600billion isn't enough, he wants more to dump in to the federal govt's spending maw before considering reducing spending.
But wait, there’s more! The sequester that has so incensed the democrats (esp. Ms. Lowey) is only a start at reducing projected INCREASES in spending. Remember when Gov Cuomo re-set planned NYS budgeting so that an inflation level of increases in spending wasn’t automatic; e.g., a zero growth budget wasn’t really zero? Well, Mr. Obama hasn’t gotten there yet. So relax. Enjoy the lack of progress the sequester is actually making. Until our national “leaders” decide to move to a zero-based budgeting process that assumes 0 for automatic increases AND takes a realistic whack out of entitlements, we should all expect the deficit to continue and the debt to grow.
SouthOfNyack February 26, 2013 at 09:54 pm
Bob Zahm said: "Obama has already gotten $600B in increased tax revenue without a single whack at the soending problem....". Bob, what is it about $1.7 TRILLION in deficit reduction cuts that you don't understand? And the horror: "more revenue" via closing loop holes that was the economic policy of the Republican presidential candidate? You were for it before you were against it, right? Right.
Bob Zahm February 26, 2013 at 09:57 pm
What deficit reduction cuts? The reason the rate of overspending is declining is because of the ending of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the ending of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
AsIseeit February 26, 2013 at 10:03 pm
Nicely said Bob and I agree!!
Billy February 26, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Skelos isn't the problem, he's the only saving grace we have in Albany, the only guy not looking to increase taxes and/or fees.
Bob Zahm February 26, 2013 at 10:10 pm
You've got to be kidding, Billy. Term limits have to apply to all or they're of no use. You may be happy with Skelo's supposed hold the line position on taxes and spending, but he's also as much for a big chunk of back-scratch spending as any other life-long politician.
SouthOfNyack February 26, 2013 at 10:40 pm
Bob, FACT: according to the BCA 2011 discretionary spending (aka annual appropriations) are to be cut and capped, with projected savings of $917B. This is measured relative to a traditional inflation baseline for discretionary spending, without using the “Iraq/Afghanistan war baseline gimmick" you mentioned.
Billy February 26, 2013 at 11:22 pm
Good point Bob & duely noted.
Bob Zahm February 26, 2013 at 11:51 pm
Ah, I see, you continue to focus on the smallest part of the budget. You have to look at the full thing which is what drives the need for cutting entitlements. Additionally the cuts you're talking about are, for the most part, phantom cuts as they are of proposed increases in spending to be reduced as opposed to reducing actual spending from today's level.
Clemona February 27, 2013 at 12:44 am
SON. thats $1.7 trillion over 10 years or $170 billion each year.
Sequestration cuts $85 billion this year. Yet this will cause kaos? All this talk about border guards being fired. First responders being cut etc. All Crap. The budgets will still be more then the previous year. All Kabuki theatre. Like everything this administration does.
Clemona February 27, 2013 at 01:07 am
Question for Patch readers who work in the private sector.
How many of you have had pay increases of 1.6% each year over the last five? Cause that's what these "devastating" cuts actually add up too.
joe February 28, 2013 at 08:49 pm
As you can see Nita, the educated voter is wise to your game....better stick to the low information voters; that's how you win.....Patch readers know too much to believe your BS.
Teleman February 28, 2013 at 10:06 pm
I love it. Today and yesterday, after last week screaming the sky was going to fall ( hoping republicans would give in) der leader bama was downplaying the effects of the sequester that he so crazily built up! What an idiot. Can you say "bluff called?"
joe March 1, 2013 at 03:05 pm
Very funny to me!....And Nita has to go....She has done absolutely nothing for us but make us the highest taxed county of all 3500 counties in the nation....She's the Big O's lap dog.
Shar March 11, 2013 at 11:58 am
here here AA11 that Lowey needs to be voted out
Shar March 11, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Lowey is s double for Palosie...dumb as box of rocks

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Why not cut out the middle man and just send the money directly to the religious schools.
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How can I get more information? When and where are auditions?
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You can contact Pastor Robin at rdemaggio@ramapocentral.org
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What are the dates of this camp?
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I missed this! Is there still a way to get a signed copy? Maybe he will do another signing?
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