Kaine: 2nd sequester year will hit Va. harder than most

The second year of automatic cuts in federal spending will hit Virginia and the defense-dependent economy of Hampton Roads harder than most parts of the country, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said Thursday.

The Virginia Democrat, who was touring Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, noted that unless Congress intercedes, the spending reductions will affect a range of government services.

The reductions are part of $1.2 trillion in cuts - known as sequestration - that are spread over 10 years, with half coming from defense and half from domestic programs. The sequester's second year will require about $100 billion in reductions.

Kaine has supported a Senate budget plan to replace sweeping cuts with more targeted reductions that do not hit defense so hard and raise more revenue by closing some tax loopholes.

"Should we find savings? Of course," Kaine said. "But across-the-board cuts that are too deep could jeopardize the defense and jeopardize the economy."

If the budget reductions aren't stopped, Kaine said, "my goal is to make them manageable."

Sequestration "is affecting everything we do," he said, when asked how the cuts might affect Hampton Roads. "It means families are taking home less pay at a time where the economy still isn't where we want it to be. It means some decisions that will probably delay repairs that will affect shipyard workers."

Less money for defense also "renders us a little bit less ready to meet the threats that we confront."

The senator predicted that a report due next month from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel may provoke some legislative action. Hagel was asked by the Senate Armed Services Committee, on which Kaine serves, to outline how the 10-year sequester will affect national defense.

"I think the committee, the Senate and, frankly, the American public are going to look at that and say, 'We're doing this to ourselves as the world gets more problematic and more challenging?' " Kaine said. "I don't think we'll want to do it to ourselves."

He noted that Virginia, with its large military installations and proximity to Washington, is particularly vulnerable.

"We have more on the line than anybody else," he said.

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