U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) are among six senators who have sent a letter to Senate leaders urging them to prevent automatic budget cuts set to take effect on Jan. 1. The letter was sent to Senate majority leader Harry Reid and minority leader Mitch McConnell on Sept. 21.
The automatic cuts, known as a sequester, result from the Budget Control Act of 2011, which ordered a “super committee” to establish a plan to reduce the national debt or else trigger $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over the next nine years, including $109 billion in 2013. The bipartisan committee failed to agree on a plan.
The Congressional Budget Office has warned that sequestration could send the economy back into a recession and raise unemployment above 9 percent. According to a report from Aerospace Industries Association, the nation would lose 1 million jobs due to defense budget cuts and another 1 million due to domestic cuts.
“We believe it is imperative to enact a bipartisan deficit reduction package to avoid the severe economic damage that would result from the implementation of sequestration,” the letter says. “Any deficit reduction package should be long term and should provide as much certainty as possible for businesses and consumers.”
The letter was also signed by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).