Ira Kantor

Boston Herald

The Center for Security Policy said it has posted new Massachusetts congressional district reports to help estimate the potential local economic impacts of the 10-year, $500 billion in cuts to the nation’s defense budget under sequestration.

The reports, which are free and available online at forthecommondefense.org/districts, are meant to help local officials and businesses prepare for the possible impact of job losses and harm to local communities from the sequestration budget cuts.

The reports provide a 2011 baseline to see how congressional districts may be affected by the planned across-the-board sequestration cuts in the 2013 defense budget. They also show 2011 defense contracts for businesses in each congressional district, including the contract dollar amount, contractor business name, address and phone number, contractor industry classification, and whether the business is a small or disadvantaged business, woman-owned, minority-owned or veteran-owned.

Contract information was derived from public data at the Federal Procurement Data System, and combined with public ZIP code data linked to congressional districts, the center said. The reports are a project of the center for the Coalition for the Common Defense, which is intended to educate and engage Americans on the importance of maintaining a strong national defense.

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