Macomb County Could Be Hard Hit By Defense Spending Cuts
MACOMB COUNTY (WWJ) - Looming across the board spending cuts could have a big impact on Macomb County.
The cuts could carve $85 billion out of the nation's defense budget and with Selfridge International Airbase and hundreds of defense contractors located there the county executive is bracing for the worst possible scenario.
Speaking live Sunday on WWJ Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said he's been in touch with both of Michigan's Senators and 10th district Congresswoman Candice Miller, encouraging them to fight these cuts.
"We're the defense capital of the Midwest so most of the defense contracts, the awards for contracts in the entire country and a lot of that comes through Michigan, in particular in the Michigan defense corridor, in Macomb county has a huge impact on us," Hackel said.
Hackel says it's not clear how many jobs could be lost in Macomb County, but the Army estimates sequestration will affect about 7,800 jobs.
If Congress doesn't act, the spending cuts are set to take effect on March 1.
