Construction professionals have begun lobbying Congress to spare their projects from the sequester cuts that took effect March 1, the New York Times reported.

Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) has flooded Congress with emails and letters to protest the hundreds of automatic cuts to these projects.

The sequestration cuts, which are divided between military and civilian programs, total $85 billion, $4 billion of which are federally-funded construction programs such as Transit Capital Programs.

The Times reported that lobbying in Washington has picked up because many people believe more cuts will follow.