STERLING – In addition to impacting countless federal programs, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos said Thursday that the $85 million in budget cuts slated to take place today could delay the opening of the long-dormant Thomson prison.

Across-the-board cuts will make it “very difficult to move forward” on new federal projects, including the opening of the prison, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said.

“I don’t see that sequestration is going to be any help to this,” said Bustos, an East Moline Democrat. “In the end, we will do everything we can to lobby to make sure that it’s in the president’s budget.”