First it was the fiscal cliff -- now the buzz word is sequestration. Congress and the President are working against a March First deadline to stop the sequester. "Sequestration would be devastating for New York," said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, during a recent Buffalo visit.
Schumer says sequestration would mean job loss in Buffalo, from civilian worker from the military to border patrol. He says cuts would even affect school districts.
"They would even cut food inspectors dealing with our food safety, eventually waits at the airport would be longer, things like that. It's a very bad thing.'" said Schumer. "It should be avoided at all cost."
Sequestration would also have a severe impact on seniors across Western New York who depend on Meals on Wheels.
"For us, the really scare worst-case outcome could be potentially we would lose funding for about 36,000 meals a year," said Tara Ellis, CEO and president of Meals on Wheels of Western New York.
More than 3,500 area clients are homebound and depend on the meals twice a day, as well as well-being checks.
"The challenge for us would be that we are already facing a $400,000 funding gap in 2013, so to compound that with another loss of another $100,000 just becomes a tremendous burden for an organization like ours," said Ellis.
Schumer says Washington Democrats are working on a plan that they believe could help. He says it would close tax loopholes that should have never been placed in the tax code.
"Right now companies actually get tax breaks when the send jobs overseas. We would end that. Oil companies, multi-billion dollar oil companies, get huge subsides," said Schumer.
Schumer says when lawmakers ended the fiscal cliff they should have ended sequestration permanently, and he admits lawmakers can't keep bouncing from "crisis to crisis."