Excerpt
SUMMARY: In the latest installment in our Battleground Dispatches series, Cathy Lewis of WHRO in Hampton Roads, Va., looks at how concern over sequestration is playing out as a local voting issue. Gwen Ifill talks to Roll Call's Steve Dennis and Josh Rogin of Foreign Policy about how congress is working on facing its budget negotiations.
GWEN IFILL (Newshour): Another topic raised last night (final Presidential debate): the cost of slashing the federal government. Congress agreed to deep across-the-board cuts known as sequestration as part of a deal to raise the nation's borrowing capacity.
But President Obama said those cuts, which would kick in January 1, are avoidable.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: First of all, the sequester is not something that I have proposed. It is something that Congress has proposed. It will not happen.
The budget that we are talking about is not reducing our military spending. It is maintaining it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: It is up to Congress in the lame-duck session after the election to resolve the issue of sequestration. But the prospect of those cuts, in particular for defense, has some voters worried, especially those who live in Southeastern Virginia.
That area, with its large military population, is focused on how the cuts would affect the local economy.
Our story comes from Cathy Lewis of WHRO in Hampton Roads and is part of our new collaboration with public media partners across the country. We're bringing you reports from areas that will likely dictate the outcome of the election in a series we call Battleground Dispatches.
COMMENT: "It is up to Congress in the lame-duck session after the election to resolve the issue of sequestration." Don't hold your breath, especially if President Obama wins. The Republican No-Governance Party in the House will continue their extremest stance.
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