Department of Homeland Security

Passengers at the nation’s largest airports experienced long lines at some security checkpoints over the weekend, and it’s only likely to get worse, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said in a news report from Reuters.

Mandatory spending cuts that went into effect Friday because of the federal government’s sequestration immediately led to the elimination of overtime for Transportation Security Administration officers and customs agents. Upcoming furloughs will only make the situation worse, Napolitano told the news service.

Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport had long lines—between 150 percent and 200 percent delays—Napolitano said, and advised passengers to get to their airports earlier than usual. The TSA website did not show any major delays at any U.S. airport on Monday morning, Reuters said.

Some lawmakers have accused Napolitano and other administration officials of “fear-mongering and exaggerating the impact that would be seen from the deep spending reductions known as the sequester,” which cut a total of $85 billion from government agencies between March 1 and October 1, Reuters said.

But Napolitano said the problems were real.

"Look, people, I don't mean to scare, I mean to inform. If you're traveling, get to the airport earlier than you otherwise would," she said in the Reuters report.

She said TSA would begin sending out furlough notices to employees on Monday and Customs and Border Protection will send them out later this week.

Heard enough about sequestration and its potential impact?

Well, here's some more, pertaining to security if the automatic, across-the-board budget cuts totaling $85 billion for fiscal year 2013 go into effect March 1.

I've read numerous news reports over the past few days dealing with everything from the Department of Homeland Security saying it would be forced to shut down its research and development lab, to the TSA stating it will need to furlough employees—resulting in longer lines at airport security checkpoints. The Pentagon says is would have to furlough civilian workers as soon as April. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol says its ranks would be cut. Port security could be threatened by sequestration as well, according to a report in the U-T San Diego.

Meanwhile, some nuclear arms sites would need to put employees on unpaid leave for weeks or months. Remember the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee? It would have to furlough 700 to 1,000 personnel for as much as six months, reports said.

"Clearly, these layoffs will adversely impact efforts to improve security" at Y-12, where three elderly peace activists, including an 82-year-old nun, last July reached a secured area that houses weapon-grade uranium, the Knoxville News Sentinel quoted an analysis from Democratic House Appropriations Committee members as saying.

And that's just the short list. But Y-12? Oh, my.

Update:

I just read a USA Today article on the sequestration's impact on FBI background checks for gun purchases. You can read it here.