New National Assoc. of Manufacturers report says Ariz. poised to lose over 100,000 jobs
PHOENIX – Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry President and CEO Glenn Hamer released the following statement in reaction to a National Association of Manufacturers report released today that finds that Arizona could lose over 100,000 jobs over an eight year period if automatic budget cuts to federal defense projects as called for by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 occur:
“These deep spending cuts in defense, under a process known as sequestration, are poised to have a devastating effect on the recovery of Arizona’s economy.
“Arizona is a top-10 state in terms of defense contracts, a position that will likely be jeopardized by these deep cuts.
“The federal government must get its fiscal house in order, and there are clearly areas of government spending that deserve to be trimmed. But not at the expense of what the NAM estimates will be an over 1 million private sector jobs.
“Arizona Sen. John McCain has rightly called these cuts a ‘looming disaster.’ Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has compared sequestration to ‘shooting ourselves in the head.’ Even though it’s an election year, it’s long past time for Congress and the president to come together on a deficit reduction plan that spares these jobs and protects the nation’s economy.”
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