A million jobs across government and industry are on the line because of impending defense budget cuts under sequestration, a top House lawmaker recently said.In a column for Investors.com, Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the White House and Congress need to resolve the sequestration issue as soon as possible.
According to McKeon, the aerospace and defense industry contributes to indirect employment of more than 2.5 million Americans and the average wage across the industry in 2010 was more than $80,000.
A study out of George Mason University predicts that one-third of the job losses would occur in California (125,800), Virginia (122,800) and Texas (91,600).
Defense companies are withholding new investments in plants, personnel and research and development because of the uncertainty surrounding defense spending, McKeon argued.
Under the Budget Control Act passed last summer, $487 billion is slated to be cut from the defense budget over the next decade and sequestration would push that number to nearly $1 trillion.
Boeing CEO James McNerney recently added to the conversation surrounding sequestration, saying his company may have to reduce its workforce before sequestration cuts occur.
