The ax is set to fall March 1 — with the first installment of $1.2 trillion in reductions over the next decade — because lawmakers can't agree on an alternative.

By Jim Puzzanghera and Richard Simon

Chicago Tribune

Feb. 9, 2013

In less than a month, a budget ax is set to fall on the federal government, indiscriminately chopping funding for the military and slicing money for various programs, including preschools and national parks.

"You're going to feel it," said Steve Bell, senior director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. "There's no way there can't be a slowdown [in government services]. You're going to see it at a local level."

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Economic Policy Project