Advertisement
Singapore markets closed
  • Straits Times Index

    3,176.51
    -11.15 (-0.35%)
     
  • Nikkei

    37,068.35
    -1,011.35 (-2.66%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,224.14
    -161.73 (-0.99%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,895.85
    +18.80 (+0.24%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    64,106.69
    +64.29 (+0.10%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,371.97
    +59.34 (+4.52%)
     
  • S&P 500

    4,967.23
    -43.89 (-0.88%)
     
  • Dow

    37,986.40
    +211.02 (+0.56%)
     
  • Nasdaq

    15,282.01
    -319.49 (-2.05%)
     
  • Gold

    2,406.70
    +8.70 (+0.36%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    83.24
    +0.51 (+0.62%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.6150
    -0.0320 (-0.69%)
     
  • FTSE Bursa Malaysia

    1,547.57
    +2.81 (+0.18%)
     
  • Jakarta Composite Index

    7,087.32
    -79.50 (-1.11%)
     
  • PSE Index

    6,443.00
    -80.19 (-1.23%)
     

Breakdown of looming US sequester cuts

The White House has published a detailed state-by-state report on the impact of automatic budget cuts which will hit the US government and economy Friday.

The $85 billion worth of cuts -- known as the sequester -- were designed to be painful in a bid to force lawmakers to reach a more palatable compromise to rein in the massive debt.

But President Barack Obama's Democrats and rival Republicans failed to reach a deal and have been trading blame instead.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the impact of the sequester, according to the latest White House estimate:

DEFENSE: Some 800,000 civilian employees of the Defense Department will go on a mandatory furlough one day per week and see their salaries cut by 20 percent.

ADVERTISEMENT

The navy will decrease the amount of time its vessels remain at sea by between 30 and 35 percent and the deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf has been canceled.

Maintenance budgets for bases and equipment will also be reduced, forcing the dismissal of some subcontractors.

EDUCATION: The federal government will reduce aid to schools by the equivalent of the salaries of 10,000 teachers and 7,200 specialists for children with disabilities.

About 70,000 children under the age of five would be cut from the Head Start preschool program, resulting in the elimination of another 14,000 teaching positions.

AIRPORTS: The average wait time for passengers arriving in the United States to pass through immigration at major airports will increase by 30 to 50 percent and may exceed four hours during peak times at major hubs.

Security lines will grow longer as the Transportation Security Administration enacts a hiring freeze, eliminates overtime and furloughs its 50,000 employees for up to seven days.

Temporary layoffs will also be imposed on air traffic controllers and other airport staff, leading to summer travel delays.

RESEARCH: The National Institutes of Health and other federally-funded scientists will delay or halt some research, including into chronic diseases and new treatments.

The Food and Drug Administration will also have to cut back, resulting in a slower approval process for new medicines. Up to 12,000 scientists and students could be affected.

FOOD: The FDA will have to conduct 2,100 fewer inspections, escalating the risk of food-borne illnesses and costing the food and agriculture sector millions of dollars in lost production as slaughterhouses stop work.

NATIONAL PARKS: Many of the country's 398 national parks would be partially or completely closed, resulting in fewer visitors and lower revenue for communities that rely on them.