"We should not have to move a third bill before the Senate gets off their ass and does something," said House Speaker John Boehner.
It's getting ugly in Washington 48 hours before $85 million in automatic spending cuts go into effect. That March first deadline is coming fast and without action from Congress, thousands of jobs are on the line.
Last week the Department of Defense announced that 800,000 civilian employees might be furloughed if the Sequester occurs. More than 500 of those employees live right here in Sioux Falls.
Sioux Falls is not home to an army base with active duty members, but it does have two branches of the National Guard whose full-time personnel classified as civilian technicians are among those at risk of furlough.
"For us it isn't about numbers, it's about faces," said Lt. Col. Reid Christopherson with the 114th Fighter wing of the South Dakota Air National Guard.
Staring down the barrel of giant national budget cuts, the members of the 114th Fighter Wing are only thinking of their fellow guardsmen.
"We know their family, their children, we know the family situations, so you start picturing very, very real cuts and they become very personal cuts," said Lt. Col. Christopherson.
As a federal agency, these leaders are used to dealing with budget cuts.
"But nothing this significant that I've been a part of and I've been in this unit for 32 years," said Col. Russ Walz, the Commander of the 114th Fighter Wing.
If the sequester comes, 244 employees at Joe Foss Field are looking at 22 days of furloughed wages.
‘If you do the math there, that's about $7,000 per employee less pay check for the last six months of this fiscal year," said Col. Waltz.
"These are real cuts and people are going to feel it and they're going to alter their life styles; they're going to alter planning for retirement for purchases for homes, for children's education…any cut has an impact back to a family," said Lt. Col. Christopherson.
The effects of these cuts could also hit the nation as a whole. It's why military leaders have already planned to work through the necessary cuts if needed.
"We've slowed down our spending to prepare, just in case it comes," said Col. Walz.
"It will challenge us, but we will meet the situation and alter where we need to and we're going to continue to serve this nation and the state of South Dakota in the absolute finest fashion possible," said Lt. Col. Christopherson.
The commander hopes Congress will come up with a solution before the deadline Friday night, but even after that point, the furloughed wages won't begin until April. If a budget can be approved before that time, the 114th Fighter Wing may be able to avoid furloughs.
