Dems Say Sequester Will Hurt Blacks, Women More Than Others

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus said Monday night that the $85 billion in cuts to federal spending, known as the sequester, will disproportionately affect blacks and other minorities, in part because they are more likely to work for the government.

“Sequestration will impact everyone, but it will have a particularly harmful effect on communities of color who were hit first and worst by the great recession, and have yet to significantly feel the effects of the recovery,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said Monday.

“Federal budget cuts under sequestration would quickly mean cuts to federal, state and local public-sector jobs, which disproportionately employ women and African-Americans.”

Lee said in 2011, employed blacks made up 20 percent of the federal, state and local public-sector workforce, and that women were 50 percent more likely to work in the public sector.

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