Obama Outlines More Potential Sequestration Cuts
Oklahoma schools face $12 million cut without budget deal, White House warns
BY RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Monday, February 25, 2013
The Obama White House said Sunday that Oklahoma schools could lose at least $12.2 million in federal funding, including $7.3 million for special education, under the automatic spending cuts due to take effect Friday.
In total, sequestration would curtail federal spending by $85 billion through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The administration and congressional Republicans are locked in a bitter fight over the issue, with the White House warning of dire consequences from sequestration while the GOP says the cuts, while potentially painful and ham-handedly applied, are preferable to raising taxes.
Appearing in Tulsa Saturday night at a GOP fundraiser, four of Oklahoma’s five Republican U.S. representatives agreed the administration is overstating the severity of the cuts.