Avoiding the senseless cuts of sequester

Eleventh-hour deals to pass short-term solutions in Washington have become so common, most people don’t even notice anymore. But the stakes are higher than ever with the automatic budget cuts, also known as the sequester, set to take effect Friday.

Sequestration means an across-the-board cut of the entire budget of the federal government, totaling more than $1 trillion in automatic cuts to defense and non defense spending over 10 years, and more than $85 billion in expected cuts in the next seven months alone. This would be a blow to our nation’s continued economic recovery and is an irresponsible way to address our nation’s debt.

Every day, households across Southern Nevada balance their budgets by prioritizing needs and making compromises among family members. If they are short of money, they don’t cut food, medicine and movies all by the same amount; they pay for necessities and cut out what can be spared during hard times. Although it is easier to make across-the-board cuts, it is more responsible and effective to make targeted cuts in spending. This is exactly what Congress should be doing, but has continually failed to do.

Now congressional inaction has put services that protect our nation, educate our children and invest in our future on the cutting block.

In Nevada, the sequester would mean furloughs for 1,500 Air Force civilian workers, resulting in more than $11 m illion in total lost income over the next seven months. More than $14 million would be cut from education funding, affecting 27,690 Nevada students. The majority of these cuts will come from special-education funding, Head Start and career and technical programs that teach our children the skills they need to be competitive in the job market.

As a result of the sequester, we could also see cuts in government agencies that provide crucial support to Las Vegas’ tourism industry. The Transportation Security Administration is expected to reduce the number of security screeners at our airports, resulting in longer lines for travelers. The same would also be true for Customs and Border Protection agents, causing long delays for travelers into the United States. Sequestration would further create a nightmare for air travelers by adding hours of delays to flights as the government is forced to cut hundreds of air traffic controllers. According to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, flights to and from major cities will be delayed about 90 minutes.

These are senseless cuts that will slow down our recovery and put our nation at risk. I agree that we must get serious about cutting costs and prioritizing spending, but I do not support careless cuts that eliminate good-paying jobs and threaten Southern Nevada’s economic recovery.

We were elected to do a job, not to let the sequester do the job for us. That is why I am committed to working with my colleagues to find a fair and balanced solution to our debt and deficit, one that cuts wasteful spending, closes loopholes, reforms our tax code and invests in our economic recovery. Only by realistically assessing the needs of today and rationally reviewing programs and policies created to address them will we be able to ensure a better future for ourselves and the next generation.

Democrat Dina Titus represents Nevada’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House.