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California National Guard Says Sequester Means $100 Million in Cuts

The California National Guard said it will have to eliminate $100 million from its budget if the federal sequester is fully implemented.

California National Guard Says Sequester Means $100 Million in Cuts
The California National Guard says its ability to respond to calls for service will be hampered if its budget is cut due to sequestration.

Colonel Laura Yeager said 2,000 maintenance staff will be furloughed one day a week, which could affect emergency response times. That tops the list of cuts.

“We don’t think that we’re going to have ammunition available for soldiers to qualify with their weapons," Yeager said. "There’s about $1.5 million that we think we’re going to be losing that funds a program to provide behavioral health services for our service members. There are military construction projects that are in jeopardy.”

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Yeager also said mapping support for firefighters, aerial drug suppression support for county law enforcement agencies, and funding for student cadet programs will also be effected.

The Guard will enact cuts in mid-April if a federal budget with full funding is not passed by March 27th.