Perhaps. Consider the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. Most of its costs are in the payroll of safety inspectors who go out to look at mines, says Richard Kogan, at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "You'll inspect fewer mines" under the sequester, he says. "That's all you can do."
Similarly, some observers worry that air safety could be affected by staffing cuts for air-traffic control and security screening of passengers. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said safety won't be compromised, but that busy routes will see delays.
"One can avoid the stupidest of these results," says Mr. Kogan, referring to the sequester's arbitrary mechanics. But he says there's no way to implement the cuts by Sept. 30 just by having agencies spend less on paper clips and the like.
Meanwhile, furlough notices are starting to go out to hundreds of thousands of federal workers, including Defense Department civilian workers, prison guards, airport security officers, and agriculture inspectors. (Uniformed military personnel, the US Postal Service, and the Department of Veterans Affairs are exempt.)
