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The Obama Administration is expected to go the Walmart way when it nominates Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the Walmart Foundation, to head up the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. According to numerous sources, cited by Talk Business, the announcement is expected to occur today.

Burwell will replace Jeffrey Zients, who has been the interim director for more than a year. She came to the Walmart Foundation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton Administration and worked for a short time in the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The Walmart Foundation confirmed the nomination in a statement on Sunday.

“We congratulate Sylvia on her nomination by President Obama to be director of the Office of Management and Budget,” said Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke. “Sylvia is a strong leader who both masters the details and has a clear vision for making big things happen. She cares deeply about people and has natural personal warmth that enables her to build relationships and drive results that deliver impact. She understands business and the role that business, government and civil society must play to build a strong economy that provides opportunity and strengthens communities across the country. Sylvia does a great job leading the Walmart Foundation, and if confirmed by the Senate, will do a tremendous job serving our country.”

Eleventh-hour opportunities to spare the nation the economic impact of sequestration are thinning as both chambers of Legislature work on proposals that would replace the $85 billion in federally-mandated across-the-board cuts.

In Arkansas, cuts are expected to signify a $920 million economic productivity loss and could put 1,950 Arkansan jobs on the line, according to a study by George Mason University.

Broken down, approximately 900 accounts will receive cuts — excepting Medicaid, Social Security, Food Stamps, veteran benefits and federal transportation — comprised of 9.4 percent defense and 8.2 percent domestic spending, according to Arkansas News.

In Arkansas, the biggest cuts will be felt by the Pine Bluff Arsenal ($23 million), public education ($26 million) and research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences ($12.2 million).

Rural airports will feel the hit as traffic control towers in Fort Smith, Springdale, Fayetteville and Rogers are slated for closure and poultry processing plants are on edge at a proposed $2 billion USDA reduction that could necessitate furloughs.

“These furlough could result in as much as 15 days of lost production, costing roughly over $10 billion in production losses, and industry workers would experience over $400 million in lost wages,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Democrat Sen. Mark Pryor predicted the 15-day closures would result in 3.3 billion pounds of chicken and 2 billion pounds of egg products unprocessed, causing a strain on the food supply and upping prices unilaterally.