Officially known as the sequester, $85 billion in automatic reductions would be triggered on March 1 absent a deal involving Congress and the White House.

BOSTON (AP) _ Defense contractors, medical research facilities and social services providers are among those in the New England region sounding the alarm over looming federal spending cuts.

Officially known as the sequester, $85 billion in automatic reductions would be triggered on March 1 absent a deal involving Congress and the White House. The cuts would be split equally among defense and non-defense programs, with some exemptions including Social Security and Medicaid.

James Brett, president of The New England Council, said the region's defense-related industries could see a loss of $300 million in federal funding at a cost of about 3,300 jobs in the first year of the sequester.

Hospitals and medical schools say an 8 percent cut in research grants from the National Institutes of Health could also lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.