BURLINGTON, Vt. -
Thousands of Vermonters could be impacted if Washington D.C. doesn't act quickly.
If Congress and the president don't reach a deal by next Friday, a round of major spending cuts called "sequestration" will hit.
Vermont non-profits, including the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity or CVOEO, are concerned.
"We're feeling vulnerable," says Jan Demers, CVOEO's executive director.
That's because Demers says federal money makes up more than half her organization's $14-million budget. She says any cuts from Washington could hurt the 25,000 Vermonters who CVOEO helps out.
"Our emergency services in all housing and food and childcare, all of those programs would be impacted to devastating effects on the people that we serve," says Demers.
In Montpelier, the Shumlin Administration says its proposed budget is pinned on Washington avoiding sequestration. If it does happen, the administration says the state does not have money to fill most federal budget cuts and might have to make major budget changes.
Demers says they're frustrated by the lack of news from Washington about the budget cuts and how they might affect Vermont.
"We plan for the worst and hope for the best," says Demers.
The Shumlin Administration also says they're concerned sequestration could really hurt the nation's and Vermont's economic recovery. And cause even more problems for the state budget.
