Sequester stalemate frustrates Tester

When asked if Congress is taking any action to undo or mitigate the effects of sequestration, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said nothing is happening yet.

“We don’t have the numbers to do it right now, I will just tell you that right now, and I will tell you … that this sequestration thing is not a good thing,” Tester said from Washington in a telephone press conference Thursday.

Sequestration — across-the-board 5 percent cuts to government programs — was set up as part of a deal to reduce the federal deficit. If the Supercommittee comprising senators and representatives from both parties formed in 2011 did not come up with a deal to reduce the deficit, the sequestration was set to occur this year.

When the Supercommittee failed to come to an agreement, and Congress could not come up with an agreement to reduce deficit-spending since then, the cuts went into effect.

People have seen cuts to services ranging from Head Start to mental health services for military veterans, but, Tester said, it does not seem to be getting much attention in Congress.

“It has not got to a point where there is a good solid nucleus of people, and I am talking 40 or 50, or even 60, that are that concerned about the sequestration,” Tester said. “Some people see this sequestration as a really good thing, because its going to downsize government.

“The problem is, is some

of these agencies are really important,” he added.

Tester said he believes there is some opportunity, including Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-Mont., planning to look at reforming the tax code, and that the Appropriations Committee could look at programs that might have outlived their usefulness — Tester cited Cold War-era military bases in Europe as an example — but nothing is happening in Congress right now.

“We do need to get our budget in order, and I can tell you that there are ways to get the budget in order without whacking programs that should be funded and not whacking programs that should be whacked at a higher rate,” Tester said. “To take across-the-board cuts, and this really shows the fallacy in all that, is that there are some budgets out there that need to be cut more than 5 percent, I might add, some programs need to be eliminated.

“But to just go across-the-board at 5 percent cuts, you’ve got programs out there that are bare bones … on the other hand, and you are cutting them to the bone, when it comes right down to it,” he said.

Tester said some of the programs are very important, and need to be weighed on their importance and on their return on the government’s investment.

He said he voted to bail out the Federal Aviation Administration a month ago when sequestration threatened to start curtailing flights.

“I’ve got to be honest with you, I am not sure that was the right thing to do,” Tester said. “I mean, people looked at it and said, ‘Hey, you just helped your cause, being a senator that flies to Montana every week, but you didn’t help mine when my kids going into preschool,’ and that’s a fair point.

“I think we need to take a look at these programs as what they are,” he added. “I mean, flying is important, but so is early childhood education.”

But, he said, no one is taking action to undo or mitigate sequestration right now.

“There’s not a lot going on in that area right now, and it needs to happen,” he said.