Federal Government of the United States and Sequestration

Understanding requisition comprise Christine Miller Webster University Author Note Christine A. Miller, Webster University. Correspondence concerning this article should be communicate to Christine Miller, 21356 89th Street, California City, CA 93505. E-mail emailprotected net Abstract Understanding requisition can be overwhelming. What argon authorities requisition and the Budget hold back Act (BCA) of 2011 and how do they impact us? Which governing body agencies provide impression the impact the most? Are there agencies that atomic number 18 exempt from the sequestration?And finally, is there a way to prevent the sequestration? A budget sequester is when money under current law is used to broth the budget deficit. electric chair Barack Obama signed into law on Aug 2, 2011 a federal official statute coroneted The Budget domination Act (BCA) of 2011. This federal statute volition impose limits on arbitrary programs by more than $1 trillion over ten course of instr uctions from 2012 through 2021. These limits atomic number 18 ground on the Congressional Budget Office baseline from 2010 (Kogan, 2011). sequestration was technically triggered when Congress failed to r severally an assortment by Jan. 5, 2012, solely because the cuts do non begin until 2013, Congress really has until the end of this year to enact brand-new legislation that would cancel or delay the cuts (OMB Watch, Nov 6, 2012). As an employee on a army installation, the impacts of the sequestration could cause short and long term set up on our contractor support. Understanding segregation Sequestration can be broadly defined as the action of taking legal self-discipline of assets until a debt has been paid or a nonher(prenominal) claims feed been met. In government terms, a sequestration is an attempt to reform Congressional voting procedures.This is an labor to make the size of the Federal governments budget deficit a emergence of conscious choice rather than simply the outcome of an appropriations influence. A process in which no one ever looked at the cumulative results until it was too late to change them. If the appropriation bills passed separately by Congress suffer for total government pass in excess of the limits Congress prior laid down for itself in the annual Budget Resolution, and if Congress can non agree on ways to cut back the total, then an automatic form of spending cutback conducts place.This automatic spending cut is what is called sequestration (Johnson, 2005). What be the major elements of the BCA of 2011? First, it allowed the President to raise the debt limit by $2. 1 trillion. This limit is estimated to be enough through early 2013. Second, established limits on annual appropriations bills which vertebral column discretionary or non-entitlement programs such as plea, education, national parks, the FBI, the EPA, low-income housing assistance, medical research, and many others the limits reduce projected patrona ge for these programs by more than $1 trillion through 2021.Third, it required the menage and Senate to vote in the glisten of 2011 on an amendment to the Constitution to mandate a balanced budget any year. Fourth, it established a Joint take on Committee on shortfall Reduction to produce legislation to reduce projected deficits by at least an additional $1. 2 trillion through 2021 (beyond the savings generated by the discretionary caps). And finally, the BCA established a contingency mechanism to ensure that $1. 2 trillion in deficit reduction would be achieved if the Joint Select Committee failed.This provided for automatic, across-the-board budget cuts in many programs in 2013 and reductions in each year from 2014 through 2021 in the annual caps on discretionary appropriations as well as automatic cuts in selected entitlement programs (Kogan, 2011). Which government programs will feel the impact the most? If sequestration does take place the cuts will be divided evenly between the defense and non-defense programs, round $55 billion each.Non-exempt non-defense programs like Head Start and education programs will have an 8. 2% cut, approximately $38 billion. Non-exempt non-defense mandate programs like agricultural hap relief will have a 7. 6% cut, approximately $5. 6 billion. Payments to Medicare providers and health insurance plans will have a 2% cut, approximately $11 billion. In addition, non-exempt defense discretionary programs will have a 9. 4% cut, approximately $54. 6 billion (OMB Watch Nov 2, 2012).This embarrasss keeping military bases open, paying salaries and research and development. The approximately $55 billion in 2013 defense cuts will be imposed in a similar but not identical manner. The defense cuts will occur through across-the-board, proportional reductions in the funding provided for defense accounts in the appropriations bills. War costs inside the National plea function are subject to sequestration, as are defense unobligated b alances carried over from prior years.Although military personnel are not exempt from sequestration the President can exempt few or all military personnel funding from the sequestration. This is because the funds for monetary year 2013 will already have been appropriated by Congress. However, if he chooses that option, the cuts in other defense funding would have to increase. As of Nov 13 the President did exempt military personnel from sequestration (OMB Watch Nov 2, 2012). Which government programs are exempt from automatic cuts?A number of programs are exempt to include Social Security benefits, all programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, interest on the federal debt, refundable tax credits, and several low-income programs. Low-income programs that are exempt include viands stamps, child nutrition programs, Medicaid, foster care, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, mandatory funding under the Child Care and Development Fund, the Childrens health Insu rance Program, and the Supplemental Security Income program (OMB Watch Nov 2, 2012). So what are the expectations for 2014 and beyond?The process for 2014 and out is quite different. The required defense funding cut of approximately $55 billion in each year from 2014 through 2021 will occur through reductions in the annual statutory caps on defense funding that the Budget Control Act sets for each of those years if sequestration is triggered. Unlike in 2013, there will be no automatic cut of all affected defense programs by the equal percentage instead, the Appropriations Committees will decide how to live within the new reduced defense funding caps (Kogan, 2011).For non-defense programs the process will be the same as in 2013 for entitlements but different for non-defense discretionary programs. Medicare payments to both providers and health insurance plans will continue to be cut by 2 percent. However, because Medicare costs are projected to rise through 2021, the dollar bar sa ved will increase from $11 billion to approximately $18 billion in 2021. In years 2014 through 2012, the remaining join of the approximately $55 billion in non-defense cuts will be utilize proportionally to other non-exempt mandatory programs and overall non-defense discretionary funding.Because Medicare will take a progressively larger share of the $55 billion non-defense cut, other non-defense programs cuts will continue to decline (Kogan, 2011). One of the biggest concerns of the sequestration is the possibility of do a recession in 2013. The combination of expiring tax cuts and the reductions in spending on discretionary government programs, known as the fiscal drop cloth, could throw the country back into recession. However, the hopes are that a budget manus would be reached in early 2013 that would retroactively cancel the sequestration.Within the Department of Defense ( defense reaction) there is a lot of concern with sequestration and the automatic cuts that would be e xecuteed in fiscal year 2013 if Congress fails to reach an capital of New Hampshire on the deficit reduction plan. The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) is on the job(p) with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure the Department is ready to implement sequestration in January if it occurs. In the meantime, consistent with OMB guidance, a memo titled Guidance on Fiscal Year 2013 Joint Committee Sequestration has been issued stating that defence reaction needs to continue normal spending and operations.The memo states to not let our programs, personnel, and activities to begin to suffer the harmful effects of sequestration temporary hookup there is still a chance it can be avoided. The memo has directed that all commanders and managers in the DoD continue the defense deputation under current laws and policies, without taking any steps that assume sequestration will occur (A. B. Carter, personal communication, Sep 25, 2012). In other words, the DoD is to continu e business as usual. Although it is business as usual, government contractors may feel the greatest impact.In conclusion, sequestration would have long enduring and untellable effects on all aspects of government agencies, DoD and non-DoD alike. If Congress does not meet the requirements imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 DoD government contractor layoffs and potential government shutdowns may occur and non-DoD government programs, like education and Medicare, will have long term consequences. Sequestration can only be prevented if Congress passes legislation that undoes the Budget Control Act of 2011 before January 2, 2013. References Johnson, P. (2005). A Glossary of Political Economy Terms.Retrieved from http//www. auburn. edu/johnspm/ refinement/sequestration Kogan, R. (2012). How the Across-the-Board Cuts in the Budget Control Act provide Work. Retrieved October 30, 2012, from http//www. cbpp. org/cms OMB Watch (Nov 2, 2012). Mitigating the Impact of a Temporary Seque ster. Retrieved November 4, 2012, from http//www. ombwatch. org/mitigating-impact-of- automatic-spending-cuts OMB Watch (Nov 6, 2012). White House and Federal Agencies Could Manage Effects of Automatic Spending Cuts in proterozoic 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2012, from http//www. ombwatch. org/node/12266