Fiscal slope gets steeper for Robins Air Force Base
NewsCentral Producer
Story Created:
Jan 2, 2013 at 6:11 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Jan 2, 2013 at 9:41 PM EDT
Robins Air Force Base 21st Century Partnership CEO Bob McMahon says a new budget deal struck by Congress on New Year's Day is incomplete. He says the plan will only make budget cuts worse as they delay defense spending cuts for another two months.
"The reality is we're over the cliff, we're in free-fall, and all we've simply done is slide this two months to the right," McMahon said.
The retired general says Robins Air Force Base has been planning to make budget cuts in the coming year, and with the delay it will now have to work those cuts in during a seven month time frame instead of a nine month time frame, making the now so-called fiscal slope a little bit steeper.
"The impact of that, as you can imagine, will be even more significant on both the defense and non-defense side," McMahon said.
McMahon says the easiest way to fix the budget will be to scale back on non-military personnel and community outreach programs, which means military bases that employ an abundance of civilian contractors, like Robins, may be in trouble.
He says only time will tell if Congress is able to pass a responsible budget deal. He just hopes they act quickly, because every second they take. the cliff becomes steeper and steeper.
"What we have to do is watch what our Congress is doing, keep the pressure on Congress to act in a responsible way that deals with this issue in its entirety rather than simply elements of it," McMahon said
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