Not even the dead will be spared from the effects of the sequestration.
The package of spending cuts that kicks in today will mean delays in burials at Arlington National Cemetery.
There are currently an average of 31 funerals a day at Arlington, but the Army expects that after today that will drop to 24, according to Danger Room.
That works out to 160 fewer funerals every month.
The Army says Arlington’s top priority is to bury troops killed in action in Afghanistan. That is not going to change under sequestration. Arlington representatives say that such burials typically take place within two weeks of receipt of the bodies of the fallen.
Veterans of older conflicts are likely to experience longer wait times. Those currently range from 30 days for burials without honors, to three months for full honors. After burying those killed in action, others scheduled to be interred will do so on a first-come-first-served basis.
