JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- They spent months overseas protecting our country. But right now one of the military's biggest threats is coming from Washington D.C.
The Department of Defense will have to cut almost $500 billion from their budget in the next 10-years. And Governor Rick Scott says this will really hurt Florida.
"Think of all the people, all the companies that have been built on our defense industry that we are going to need long term," he said.
Governor Scott sent a letter to congressional leaders this week asking them to avoid making these steep cuts.
"We've got to make sure that our troops have the right equipment, the right back up. We have got to make sure that people in the defense industry continue to have jobs," said Governor Scott.
Florida is home to 20 military installations that bring millions to the state. Scott says up to 39,000 civilian jobs could be lost because of the cuts.
"We can't make rash, irrational decisions. We need to balance our budget. We need to reduce our taxes. We need to turn our economy around, but we need to do it in a manner that makes sense," said Governor Scott.
The last time major cuts were made to the military Jacksonville lost Cecil Field. This time around Duval County could lose more than $100-million.
Congress voted to cut defense spending last summer to lower the $1.2 trillion dollar deficit. These cuts will go into effect January 2nd.
