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WASHINGTON (WKOW) -- The Sequester is now in effect.
President Barack Obama signed an order Friday night authorizing the government to begin cutting $85 billion from federal accounts, officially enacting across-the-board reductions that he opposed but failed to avert.
The president has insisted on replacing the cuts with tax increases and cuts spread out over time. Republicans have rejected any plan that included tax revenue.
The government says the reductions will soon result in furlough notices to government employees and will trim government spending on defense contracts and in domestic government programs. Active military personnel and anti-poverty and low-income assistance programs are largely protected from the cuts.
Officials in Wisconsin say they need to know more before deciding how to deal with the cuts. Gov. Scott Walker's administration says the state is waiting for more information on the cuts before gauging any actual impact statewide.
White House budget officials say that for Wisconsin, the mandatory cuts could mean fewer meat inspectors, air control towers and military personnel, less environmental protection funding and school aid, among other things.
