Tuesday, June 18, 2013

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Senators Concerned Going Off Fiscal Cliff Could Hurt Alaska’s Military
Civilian workers at bases could face cuts
By Megan Edge


ANCHORAGE - The deadline for finding the fiscal cliff is almost upon us, and Congress is still deadlocked about a solution.

But how will it impact Alaska?

CBS 11's Megan Edge explored one area that could be hit hard come January 1: Alaska’s military.

Many federal workers for various departments have started to get nervous.

January 1 is less than a week away, and Congress has not been able to come up with a solution that would avoid $110 billion in cuts a year for the next 10 years.

About eight to ten percent of those cuts would come from military spending.

The military and Alaska have a long history.

“The most important thing about Alaska is our strategic location,” said Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska). “We are located obviously to support the activities in the Pacific Rim, which are now becoming a more strategic element of our national defense and international activity.”

It's a relationship Alaskans don't want to see come to an end, but are afraid what's happening in Washington might cause a break-up.

Alaska’s senators are keeping an especially close eye on defense cuts.

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski is especially concerned about what they might do to our “fragile economy.”

And her Democratic counterpart, Begich, agrees. “The military, especially in the Interior, has a huge economic impact. That's why we've seen continued growth, even in these tight fiscal times in the last four years.”

Both senators say Alaska’s active military personnel will be protected.

It's what won't be protected that concerns them.

“But civilian employees would be subjected into upwards of eight percent reductions,” Begich said.

Both of Alaska’s senators say the pain will be felt in the Last Frontier if no deal is reached.

“I call it the duct tape approach,” Begich said. “We just gotta pull that duct tape back pretty fast, and its going to hurt, but at the end of the day we will be stronger for it.”

Both senators say the only thing Alaska and its military members can do now is wait until the clock runs out and we welcome in 2013 together to see what the future holds.

Federal tax cuts and breaks enacted under George W. Bush will also expire January 1.