Congressman Heck Denounces Park Closures Due to Sequestration

With time rapidly running out until sequestration goes into effect this Friday, many local officials still aren't sure exactly how the automatic federal spending cuts would play out in Washington state, although cuts are already being made to national parks. 

Congressman Denny Heck of the 10th Congressional District (encompassing Puyallup, Lakewood and University Place) took to the floor of the House Wednesday to speak out about the impact sequestration will have on Washington State’s national parks. Mt. Rainier National Park has already announced it will not open the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center this season, impacting an approximate 85,000 visitors.

"It's a beautiful day... but I worry about how many more beautiful days we have to come, if we don't replace the sequestration," said Heck. (Watch the YouTube link for the full clip).

A recent article in the The Tacoma News Tribune said Mount Rainier is facing a mandated cut of $604,000 in its annual operating budget.

According to the White House, Washington's biggest losses would be in education and military spending. In 2013, officials have said our state would lose $11.6 million in funding for primary and secondary education, along with $11.3 million for education for children with disabilities—which would together put about 300 education jobs.

The impact to jobs would be more significant with military employees, according to the White House's projections. Across the state, about 29,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed, resulting in a loss of $173.4 million in gross pay.

Some social services would also be hard hit. Washington stands to lose more than $1 million in nutritional assistance for senior residents and $143,000 in funds for victims of domestic violence—requiring the STOP Violence Against Women Program to serve approximately 500 fewer victims.  

Unemployment insurance another area that could see some impacts from sequestration. The Seattle Times reports that up to 141,000 Washington residents who are accepting unemployment checks could be impacted, but state officials aren't sure exactly how severe the cuts would be.

The Federal Aviation Administration has said it might shut down eight airports in our state—including Renton Municipal Airport and Paine Field in Everett—but it's still not clear whether or not that would actually happen, according to The Times.

A state-by-state comparison compiled by Wells Fargo shows Washington would be one of the states hardest-hit by sequestration because 5.9 percent of our state's GDP comes from federal spending—much of it in the form of military spending. 

President Obama will meet with top Congressional leaders on Friday, the day sequestration is scheduled to begin taking effect.

Are you concerned about the local impacts of sequestration? Tell us in the comments section.