This week, several House and Senate committees held hearings on the looming sequestration scheduled on March 1. A hearing held yesterday by the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations focused on the broad impacts of the sequester on defense and non-defense programs, and included testimony from a number of high-level federal officials. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned of furloughs and layoffs of front-line personnel that would lead to slower disaster response times, reduced border security and a substantial increase in airport screening wait times. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said that the sequester would lead to the eviction of homeless individuals from emergency shelters and cut hundreds of millions of dollars from Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs). Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated that the sequester would result in decreased aid to school districts with high concentrations of military families, less funding for teachers, larger class sizes and cuts to special education. Office of Management and Budget controller Danny Werfel explained during the hearing that legal requirements, including the need to bargain with unions and provide 30 days notice, would delay federal furloughs for defense workers until April if the sequester is triggered on March 1. In addition to the testimony, 20 federal agencies submitted letters for the hearing record describing the impact of sequestration on their agency’s activities.

Also this week, both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees held hearings on the impact of sequestration and a continuing resolution on the Department of Defense. The House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing examining employers’ Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act responsibilities should the sequester take place.

In addition, on February 13, Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee issued a report on the impact of sequestration, which largely expands on a fact sheet released by the White House last week. The report describes the economic consequences, federal employee furloughs, and other effects of spending reductions to defense and nondefense programs.

Links: Senate Appropriations Testimony; House Armed Services Testimony; Senate Armed Services Testimony; Workforce Protections Testimony; Federal Agency Letters; House Appropriations Report; White House Fact Sheet