November 27, 2012

Senator Lamar Alexander 455 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Senator Michael Bennet 458 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Senator Saxby Chambliss 416 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Senator Tom Coburn 172 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Senator Kent Conrad 530 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-3403 Senator Mike Crapo 239 Dirksen Senate Building Washington, DC 20510 Senator Dick Durbin 711 Hart Senate Building Washington, DC 20510 Senator Mark R. Warner 475 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Re: Stop Sequester and Save Jobs

Dear Senators Alexander, Bennet, Chambliss, Coburn, Conrad, Crapo, Durbin and Warner: On behalf of the L.A. Jobs Defense Council, a coalition of leaders from Los Angeles Countys business, labor, education, nonprofit, and public sectors, who are dedicated to protecting the

tens of thousands of workers, countless families and entire communities throughout the L.A. basin that will be cruelly affected by the involuntary, across-the-board $1.2 trillion in federal spending cuts (sequestration) set to trigger on January 2, 2013, we urge your collective leadership to broker a compromise that averts the defense and non-defense sequester. As a diverse group representing many different constituencies sometimes even competing with each other, we are keenly aware of the difficulties you face as negotiations on the fiscal cliff and contending policy priorities continue. Still, we remain absolutely unified, committed and steadfast in our collective effort to avert sequester and protect our communities. And while we have been told regularly and somewhat patronizingly over the last few months in meetings with our own L.A. County Congressional delegation: not to worry, a deal will be had, and sequester wont happen, we also know that talk is cheap. Pacifying words wont stop the pink slips from continuing to come in our world-leading aerospace and defense industries; convenient platitudes and moral victories wont help our labor brothers and sisters pay their families bills; and conciliating statements wont replace the critical dollars lost to our vital community development, job training, early childhood, and health services programs. Here in Southern California, the impacts of these draconian, forced spending cuts will affect almost every aspect of life for our residents and communities. Bear in mind that Southern California represents the heart of the nations aerospace and other defense-related industries which include aerospace products and parts as well as analytical instrument manufacturing. The estimated [direct, indirect and induced] economic and fiscal contributions (2010) of the aerospace industry in Southern California are about $66 billion in output, almost 276,000 annual jobs with about $21 billion in labor income, and an estimated $2.4 billion in state and local taxes. 1 In San Diego County alone, more than 25 percent of the countys total jobs are supported by defense-related spending. 2 Whats more, the uncertainty surrounding sequestration has already had significant impacts on many local companies willingness to spend and hire at a time when the Los Angeles County unemployment rate is already 10.5 percent. Adding to the sudden and lasting blow from sequester, we cannot even begin to quantify the negative future economic effects from the loss of innovation-driving companies in various sectors of our economy, as well as the lost technological spillover effects provided by these incubators of innovation. Indeed, the economic contribution of impacted industries reaches far beyond the dollar value of the products produced and the number of people employed. That being said, we have all seen the statistics. After a long-fought campaign season, everyone in America should be painfully familiar with the term fiscal cliff and the real dangers we face if
1 2

Source: Estimates by LAEDC Economic & Policy Analysis Department. Source: San Diego Military Advisory Council, San Diego Military Economic Impact Study (June 20, 2012).

Washington lets us go over the edge. What you may not see, however, are the faces of those people and families who will be absolutely devastated by the looming draconian cuts to our nations community-benefit social programs, especially during this time of great economic upheaval and uncertainty when more of our neighbors are in need of assistance than any other period in recent history. Here is a small sample of the California- and Los Angeles-based programs directly threatened without your leadership: 3 11,902 fewer children will be served by Head Start throughout California. 27,816 fewer Los Angeles residents would receive HIV/AIDS testing. 261, 521 low-income individuals will be cut-off from Community Service Block Grant aid. 14,919 fewer Californians would receive substance abuse training while another 7,184 domestic violence victims would go un-served. 1,920 California education jobs will be lost, 296,172 fewer students served, and 506 fewer schools would receive federal grant funding. 331,676 fewer students in California would receive education and skills training for highdemand jobs.

Exacerbating matters, Southern Californias ability to fund and deliver human and social services programs will not only be undermined directly by the discretionary cuts to state and local programs, but will also face severe revenue (budgetary) shortfalls from an overall decline in economic output, tens of thousands of jobs lost (and the added stress that mass joblessness places on local social services programs) and a major reduction in personal earnings, savings and spending. In turn, this will result in plummeting quality of life, overall health and general well-being measures all of which are so closely linked with increased unemployment. The list of communities and at-risk residents who would be utterly besieged reads on for pages in reports cited herein. Make no mistake, in Southern California there is simply no greater immediate threat to our economic recovery and longer-term wellbeing than defense and nondefense sequester cuts. So much so that any solution that proposes to halve both the defense and non-defense sequester is no solution for our communities at all. Given your close attention to and presumptive roles in helping to lead bipartisan discussions on Capitol Hill as a member of the so-called Gang of Eight, we urge you to consider the full cost of inaction, and implore you to continue working with the White House and other Senate and House leaders to find a balanced solution. Your courage to work across the aisle on so many issues in the past has been admirable, at times typifying the true essence of public service and civic leadership in the midst of extreme partisanship. As local leaders from communities and industries who stand to lose a great deal from indecision and political do-nothings, we
3

Office of Senator Harkin, Tom, Under Threat: Sequestrations Impact on Defense Jobs and Services (July25, 2012); http://www.stopsequestration.com/facts/Harkin_Sequestration_Report.pdf.

commend your historic commitment to lead together, but we urge you to come together to lead once again. For all of the above reasons, we appeal to you to renew your commitment to bipartisan solutions, to broker an acceptable compromise, and to lead your Congressional colleagues to a solution that averts the sequester cuts. There is no time to delay. Please dont forfeit our confidence.

Sincerely,

George Burden Co-Chair, L.A. Jobs Defense Council

Norm Hickling Co-Chair, L.A. Jobs Defense Council

cc:

President Barack Obama Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader Speaker of the House John Boehner Congressmember Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader