WASHINGTON -
President Obama is visiting a shipyard in
Newport News, Virginia today. He is warning that civilians who work on Navy
ships could face layoffs if $85-billion in automatic budget cuts kick in this
Friday.
Military leaders talked about how
challenging the cuts will be at a Congressional hearing this morning.
With the clock ticking, it's small
businesses like this communications contractor that are already bracing for the
impact of the cuts, especially hits to the Defense Department.
Pedro Alfonso employs 120 workers at his
facility in Washington DC. His business relies on contracts with government
agencies that will see their budgets slashed.
The main sticking point between the
White House and Congressional Republicans is taxes. Republicans agreed to raise
taxes in the fiscal cliff deal last month, and they say that's enough. They're
also criticizing the president for taking his message on the road.
Business owners like Pedro Alfonso say
it's easy for Congress and the White House to criticize each other, but they're
not facing layoffs and pay cuts.
A Pew Research poll shows more than 6
out of 10 Americans think the automatic cuts will have negative effect on the
economy.
