Senator Warner spoke this morning with Rick Rumble of FM 99/WNOR Norfolk’s Rumble in the Morning about the looming sequestration cuts, which have already impacted thousands of Virginians in the Hampton Roads area and across the commonwealth.  Sen. Warner began by giving an example of just what makes the cuts both so devastating and so inefficient.

“Unlike a normal business, with the Navy… instead of buying one airplane you buy five airplanes, and you get the five airplane discount.  If we have to buy them one by one because we can’t honor these multi-purchase contracts, then in the name of cutting, we actually cost the taxpayer money.”

Sen. Warner emphasized that these across-the-board cuts would have a wide-ranging negative impact in many areas vital to American strength at home and abroad.

“It’s not just defense.  The National Institute of Health has funding for disease research, [including] times where you’ve got a five-year study.  Now you’ve done four years of the study, but you can’t issue the contracts for the fifth year because of the sequester cut… so you’ve got to flush the results of the first four years – that costs the taxpayer money.”

Of course the biggest and most immediate negative impact is for those whose jobs are directly connected to the industries facing cuts, many of which are defense-related.  Rick and Sen. Warner discussed how the uncertainty surrounding sequester cuts is already harming Hampton Roads residents, including those who had expected to deploy with the U.S.S. Truman before the sudden announcement last week that the carrier would remain in port.

“You’ve got people that go ahead and sell their car, or sublet their apartment [before finding out that they won’t deploy]… this has a dramatic, dramatic effect.”

Sen. Warner detailed his dogged efforts to blunt the harmful effects of sequester, including by presenting an alternative to across-the-board cuts by giving agencies more flexibility to decide where and when to cut.

“Plan A is still hoping for a rational approach that says, Republicans you have to put in more revenue, Democrats you’ve got to kick in some reforms to entitlement programs…let’s go back to a big bipartisan deal.”

“Plan B is, if we’re going to go through these cuts, let’s at least allow the Secretary of the Navy, or the Secretary of Health, to move money from one account to another so they can make some level of business judgment about which things need to be cut… [still keeping] the top-line number, but giving them some flexibility.”

Finally Sen. Warner expressed his frustration with the inability of Congress to find the common ground necessary to halt the sequester cuts. 

“This was set up to be so stupid that nobody in their right mind would allow it to happen.  I know people in Hampton Roads are scratching their heads, but I’m also up there scratching my head… Those of us who are trying to say’ ‘time out – let’s both sides give a little bit,’ we keep getting squeezed out because screamers on both sides tend to get more attention.”

“I’m hoping, I’m pushing, I’ve got an alternative plan out there… I know people are saying ‘Warner, you’re up there – why can’t you do more?” Well I keep working these bipartisan groups trying to get people to fall outside their team colors.  It’s harder than I thought it was going to be.”

Senator Warner ended on a note of cautious optimism.

“The economy is ready to come back – we just need to get rid of this uncertainty.”