SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- The Army says in a new report that future automatic budget cuts in Washington could cost Georgia thousands of additional military jobs.<br />
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The Army's numbers are hypothetical, worst-case predictions. They show up to 16,000 soldiers and civilians lost at Fort Stewart near Savannah, as many as 10,800 jobs cut at Fort Benning in Columbus and up to 4,600 positions axed at Fort Gordon in Augusta. Income losses could top $1.7 billion.<br />
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The Army based the possible reductions on automatic cuts the Pentagon would face if Congress and the president can't agree on future budgets. The report essentially warns how painful cuts could become in policymakers' home states.<br />
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Will Ball, who heads a lobbying initiative for Georgia's military interests, called the findings "worst-case scenarios not likely to pass muster in Congress."
