Sen. Tim Johnson
Sen. John ThuneOver the weekend the White House released a state-by-state breakdown of the effects of the automatic federal spending cuts. If a solution to avoid sequestration is not found by March 1, South Dakota could lose out on $6 million.
Democratic Senator Tim Johnson released a statement Monday saying South Dakota would be hard hit by the federal funding cuts. He said, while the impacts would not be felt all at once they will definitely be very negative.
"The time has come for Congress to stop the political mudslinging and start working on smart solutions to address our budget problems. The Senate will be voting on a balanced approach to avoid these cuts this week," Johnson said in a statement issued Monday. "I call on my Republican colleagues to vote for this reasonable plan that provides for targeted cuts along with raising revenue."
Republic Senator John Thune said panic of the sequester deadline could have been avoided. In a statement to KSFY News, Thune said for months the president and Congressional Democrats have stood idly by while Republicans have proposed alternative spending cuts. Thune said Republicans have voted twice to replace the president's cuts with targeted savings.
"Now, just eight weeks after Democrats demanded that taxes be raised on hardworking Americans, they are insisting we do it again. I believe there are better ways than the president's sequester to reduce spending," Thune said in his statement to KSFY News. "Federal spending has increased by nearly 20 percent since 2008, and Washington should be able to absorb a 2.4 percent spending reduction to the $3.5 trillion budget in a smart and efficient manner."
Click here to see how South Dakota would be affected by the automatic spending cuts.
