Massachusetts politicians warn against research spending cuts

A Massachusetts senator is warning that the state could lose thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in federal funds as a result of reductions to research agencies that would occur if Congress allows deep spending cuts to go into effect on 1 March, reports the Boston National Public Radio station WBUR.

The cuts, known as the “sequester,” are supposed to automatically trigger unless a Congress can agree on a deficit-reduction strategy. If the sequester takes effect, WBUR notes, about $85 billion will be trimmed from the federal budget for the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year, split evenly between defence and domestic programmes.