Congressman Mark Pocan met with constituents Wednesday in Madison to talk about the federal sequester budget cuts. He spoke with researchers and faculty at U.W. Madison which will lose $35 million in the current year, with cuts to follow for the next nine years, and thus will result in a loss of scientific research grants.
The scientists said immediate cuts will translate to projects being cancelled, researchers being laid off, and a stifling of jobs that could’ve come from new technologies.
“One of the things that we’re talking about that we need to do most is turn the economy around,” said Pocan, emphasizing the long-term effects of not investing in new ideas. “We have jobs leaving the United States, 12 million people out of work, millions more unemployed.”
The Democratic lawmaker said he will share the faculty’s stories with his colleagues in Washington to try to convince them to reverse the course on these scheduled reductions.