Tagged: sequester

About 7,000 civilian workers at Fort Knox will be affected if federal cuts in defense spending take effect next Friday.

The News-Enterprise reports the workers would be furloughed one day each week for up to 22 weeks and lose about 20 percent of their pay.

Derek Avey, a civilian Fort Knox Garrison employee, says his family has made plans just in case.

"We'll make car payments and mortgage payments and those things, but going out to eat or catching a movie we may not do as often as we used to," the Elizabethtown resident said.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul believes the sequester and its $85 billion in spending cuts present a great political opportunity for Republicans. In an interview with WKU Public Radio Tuesday, Sen. Paul said as the March 1 deadline nears, more and more members of the GOP are starting to believe the sequester may be their best bet for getting significant spending cuts to become reality

According to Sen. Paul, Republicans "have the President where we want him. These spending cuts will occur automatically, without a Presidential signature, and without the Democrats in the Senate voting for it"

WKU Public Radio spoke with Sen. Paul about sequester politics, gun control, and America's appetite for a libertarian presidential candidate.

Here are some excerpts from our interview: