Sequestration in Montgomery County

Sequestration: Impact on National Parks

Part four of a four-part series on the impacts of Sequestration in Montgomery County. National historic parks, such as the one at Valley Forge, will see an impact should sequester not be stopped by midnight Thursday.

If heading to Valley Forge National Historic Park is on your to-do list this summer, you might need to double check the schedule. Due to sequestration, parks like Valley Forge may have staffing and hours on the "chopping block." “Every park in the system would be affected, including treasured places like Gettysburg, Independence Hall and Valley Forge, and the local economies that depend on visitor spending would also suffer,” said Cinda Waldbuesser, senior Pennsylvania program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association in a recent release. “National parks are economic drivers for local communities. Over the last two years, Pennsylvania’s national parks have welcomed more than eight million visitors, generating $325,000,000 in …

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Sequestration: Cuts to Montgomery County's Housing Authority

Part Three of a Four-Part Series: How budget cuts may impact the housing authority.

As Democrats point fingers to the Republicans and Republicans point fingers at the Democrats, the one thing not happening in Congress is the stoppage of sequester. As it stands, the impact of the changes will begin as early as midnight on Thursday. But how will this change impact those in Montgomery County? Another hard-hit department may be that of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Joel Johnson, executive director of the Montgomery County Housing Authority knows this fact all too well. Funded through the U.S. Department HUD, his department’s funding is in jeopardy with the fiscal year only half over. “We receive four monies from four pots,” said Johnson. “Depending on Congressional allocation, the amounts vary.” Two types of funding, …

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Sequestration in Montgomery County

Sequestration: A Cut for Montco's Seniors

Part Two of a Four-Part Series: How budget cuts may impact local senior citizens.

Another 24 hours is lost, and Congress has yet to agree on a plan that would stop sequestration. The automated budget cuts will deliver a hit to Montgomery County programs, including those designed to assist area senior citizens. In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, House Speaker John Boehner said the cuts would be a product of Obama's "failed leadership." "Most Americans are just hearing about this Washington creation for the first time: the sequester," Boehner writes in his column. "What they might not realize from Mr. Obama's statements is that it is a product of the president's own failed leadership. There is nothing wrong with cutting spending that much -- we should be cutting even more -- but the sequester is an ugly and dangerous …

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