What is budget sequestration

However, delaying cuts upfront means deeper cuts later in the year if Congress is unable to develop a deal to address sequestration. Additionally, other budget and fiscal issues must soon be addressed by Congress and the White House.

On March 27, the current continuing resolution, which keeps the government funded, expires. Congress will have to hash out a plan to fund the government by then or else the government slowdown would turn into a full-blown shutdown. As part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of , the total amount of funding for fiscal year must be equivalent to fiscal year funding or an additional sequestration goes into effect.

Without a grand bargain, it is unlikely that the appropriations process would be able to fully offset the cuts from the sequestration beginning on March 1.

Congress agreed to support the concept by incorporating it into the Budget Control Act, with neither party believing it would ever be necessary. Both sides saw it as a way to force further negotiations later, according to Woodward. The Obama team thought there was "no chance" Republicans would allow defense cuts to happen, while Boehner said Democrats would cave to save domestic programs. Woodward quotes Boehner predicting the sequester "is never going to happen.

Republicans have repeatedly said the sequester was President Obama's idea, but they supported it early on and provided the votes needed to put it into law. Press Room. User Agreement. Privacy Policy.

Search Login Join. Learn More. Get Involved Learn how you can make a difference for your profession. Adapted in part with permission from Hart Health Strategies Updated March 6, As APMA members know, due to partisan gridlock in Washington, DC, the federal government will encounter an automatic budget "sequester" starting March 1, which was put in place by previous budget reduction agreements between President Obama and Congress.

By how much will Medicare payments be reduced? When would I start experiencing these reductions? What other government programs will be affected by sequestration? Is this like a government "shut down"? Whose idea was the sequester? What is the sequester? Back to top of page When would I start experiencing these reductions? As required, CBO reports on whether appropriations enacted for the current fiscal year have exceeded the statutory caps on discretionary funding.

In a report required by law, CBO provides estimates of the caps on discretionary funding for each fiscal year through Blog Post. Sequestration Update for August August 12, In practice, most federal spending is exempt or otherwise not subject to limit by sequestration as Congress continually raises its own spending caps and legally exempts new categories of spending.

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