Sequestration in Northern Virginia: Bracing for Impact

President Obama may wait until 11:59 p.m. Friday to set federal budget cuts in motion.

The automatic federal spending cuts known as sequestration—set up as an unpalatable consequence so that Congress would be forced to compromise on a budget plan—may mean a difficult March (and 2013) for thousands in Northern Virginia and the DC metro area.

In Northern Virginia, thousands of people like Falls Church’s Robert Foster are preparing for possible furloughs and reduced paychecks or possible unemployment.

"There are a lot of federal employees in this area. It’s unfortunate that we’re going through this,” Mad Fox Brewing Co. owner Bill Madden told Falls Church Patch this week.

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A recent George Mason University study put total sequestration job losses at 2.14 million.

Virginia could stand to lose $838 million in federal spending thanks to sequestration, but the economic impacts of thousands of Northern Virginia residents both earning and spending less could have wider-reaching ripple effects.

Here in Virginia, Gov. Bob McDonnell warned sequestration could force Virginia back into a recession.

Sequestration may hurt local businesses, restaurants, national parks and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (Metro’s) efforts to modernize escalators and plan for increased ridership in the future.

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In fact, people living and working in Northern Virginia may be more tuned into sequestration and its effects more than people in other parts of the country. Across the country, fewer people are paying attention to the sequestration debate in Congress than they were in December when the “fiscal cliff” was the political panic du jour, according to a survey by the Washington Post and Pew.

Here’s more on how sequestration may affect Northern Virginia:

• McDonnell: Sequester Could Force Virginia Into Recession
• Sequestration Bites Dog-Walking Businesses National Park Service: Sequestration to Hurt Local Tourism 
• Sequestration Gets Real: Northrop Grumman Employee Prepares 
• Warner: Sequestration Worse Than You Imagine

Here are answers to some of the more commonly asked questions recently and interesting or informative posts on what’s going on:

• When Does the Sequester Start? (CBS News)
• Furlough Friday: 10 Questions and Answers (Washington Post)
• Many Furlough Appeals Expected, but Odds Long (Washington Post)
• The Hidden Costs of Sequestration: Save Now, Spend Later (USA Today)
• Sequester to Hit Military-Heavy Areas Hardest (WSJ)
• Meat Plants Face Shutdown Due to Sequester, USDA Says (Huffington Post)

Patch has already gotten more than 200 comments on our post asking who’s to blame for sequestration. See what others from Northern Virginia are saying and weigh in here.