Florida’s Defense Support Task Force says it’s keeping an eye on the Federal Government. Congress and the President have until January 2nd to come to an agreement on $1.2-trillion in cuts or added revenue in the next ten years, before a process called sequestration kicks in. Sequestration is a part of the 2011 Federal Budget Control Act, and Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll said it could mean a loss of more than 14-thousand jobs for the state.
Carroll said the state has the technology and workforce needed to be a leader in space related industries and she said that can transfer to partnerships with the military.
“There are so many synergies with Space Florida and our military, that many people don’t realize the opportunities for economics, the opportunities for jobs, but we also have a threat and the threat comes from our Federal Government in regard to the budget,” Carroll said.
Carroll said that threat is sequestration, which she said stands to really impact the state. For example, right now, Florida depends on military support for launches at Cape Canaveral.
“If the 114th goes away and we no longer have the oversight, and the capabilities to monitor, manage our launch and the activities that go along with it and our telemetry system that will link real time date to the space vehicle and its launches and where it is, though sequestration if that goes into effect. That then creates a situation where we lose jobs and lose capabilities not only for our state, but for our nation,” Carroll said.
Carroll said that’s just one example of the negative impact Florida could be facing. She estimated the state stands to lose billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. Task force officials have agreed to move forward with an effort to raise awareness about the effect sequestration could have on Florida.
