By BILL BARROW
Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) - Mandatory spending cuts will hit many federal programs beginning Friday unless President Barack Obama and Congress avoid the so-called sequester.
But Georgia officials say the effects here are not immediately clear.
A state-by-state account from the White House says Georgia could, among other items, lose $233 million in Army base support; $190 million in pay for Department of Defense employees; $28.6 million in K-12 education support; and money that pays for immunizations, environmental management and meals for needy seniors.
Two big-ticket federal programs - Social Security and Medicaid - are exempt. So are Pell Grants, school nutrition and federal highway construction. But Medicare isn't.
Some analysts, meanwhile, say the biggest long-term effect could be an economy slowed down by diminished consumer confidence.
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