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LABOR
More than 3.8 million people jobless for six months or longer could see their unemployment benefits reduced by as much as 9.4 percent. Thousands of veterans would not receive job counseling. Fewer Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors could mean 1,200 fewer inspections of dangerous work sites. -
TRANSPORTATION
There could be widespread flight delays and cancellations due to furloughs of air traffic controllers, but furloughs won’t start until April because of the legal requirement to give workers advance notice. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood predicts flights to cities such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco could have delays of up to 90 minutes during peak hours. FAA officials have said they expect to eliminate overnight shifts by air traffic controllers in more than 60 airport towers and close more than 100 towers at smaller airports. But information posted online by the agency shows 72 airports that could lose midnight shifts and 238 airports whose towers could be closed.
People arriving on international flights were said to experience delays at airport customs and immigration booths, including at Los Angeles International and O’Hare International in Chicago. Officials said Monday that’s because they closed lanes that would have previously been staffed by workers on overtime. Though the spending cuts went into effect last week, furloughs of controllers won’t kick in until April because the Federal Aviation Administration is required by law to give its employees advance notice. -
FOOD SAFETY
There could be an estimated 2,100 fewer food safety inspections and increased risks to consumers because of the cuts and the fact that lack of a new 2013 budget means the Food and Drug Administration is held at last year’s spending level. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg says most of the effects wouldn’t be felt for a while, and the agency won’t have to furlough workers. -
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
The Pentagon says it will be forced to furlough for one day a week about 15,000 teachers who work at schools around the world for children of people in the military. Commissaries will be open only five days a week instead of six. The teachers are among some 800,000 defense department civilians who will lose a day’s pay each week for more than five months. The Army will let go more than 3,000 temporary and contract employees and beginning in April, it will cancel maintenance at depots which will force 5,000 more layoffs. The Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy’s Blue Angels will cancel air show appearances.
Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff paint a dire picture of construction projects on hold, limits on aircraft carriers patrolling the waters and even a delay in the expansion of Arlington National Cemetery. One of the Navy’s premiere warships, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, sits pier-side in Norfolk, Va., its tour of duty delayed. The carrier and its 5,000-person crew were to leave for the Persian Gulf on Feb. 8, along with the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg.
Furlough notices will begin going out later this month to about 800,000 defense department civilians, who will lose a day’s pay each week for more than five months. The Army will let go more than 3,000 temporary and contract employees and beginning in April, it will cancel maintenance at depots which will force 5,000 more layoffs. The Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy’s Blue Angels will cancel air show appearances.
Veterans’ funerals at Arlington National Cemetery could be cut to 24 a day from 31 because of furloughs among civilian employees who work with families to schedule services as well as furloughs among crews that dig the graves and do other grounds work. Troops killed in action in Afghanistan will be the priority – they are usually laid to rest within two weeks – but funerals for vets from previous wars would be delayed, Army spokesman George Wright said. -
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
Pentagon investments in countering cyber threats and nuclear proliferation will be at risk, says Michael Vickers, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence. And the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, says the agency could be hit hard because it depends heavily on military and civilian personnel to accomplish its mission. -
U.S. COAST GUARD
Coast Guard rescue aircraft will fly fewer hours and cutters will patrol the seas for fewer hours, says the service’s Commandant Adm. Robert J. Papp. Emergencies will be a priority and interdictions of illegal immigrants, drugs and illegal fishing could decline. -
EDUCATION
Some 70,000 students currently enrolled in pre-kindergarten Head Start would be cut from the program and 14,000 teachers would lose their jobs. For students with special needs, the cuts would eliminate some 7,200 teachers and aides. Up to 29 million student loan borrowers and some lenders may have to lay off staff or even close; some of the 15 million college students who receive grants or work-study assignments at some 6,000 colleges would also see changes. -
CONGRESS
Congressional trips overseas likely will take a hit. House Speaker John Boehner told Republican members in a closed-door meeting that he’s suspending the use of military aircraft for official trips by House members. Lawmakers typically travel on military planes for fact-finding trips to Afghanistan or Pakistan, or other congressional excursions to foreign locales.
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