Allocating the Sequester
Sarah Vanderbilt | Sept. 14, 2:42 p.m.
Launch Interactive
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As required by Congress, the Obama administration submitted a report today on the across-the-board cuts scheduled to take effect in January.
The deficit reduction law enacted last year requires that a $109 billion sequester for fiscal 2013 be divided evenly between defense and nondefense spending, and then allocated among nonexempt discretionary and mandatory accounts to achieve uniform percentage cuts. Most safety net programs, like Medicaid, food stamps and child nutrition are exempt from the sequester, and Medicare and some other health programs are limited to a 2 percent cut.
In addition to the providing the broad outlines shown in the table above, the OMB report details the anticipated reduction to each of 1,200 budget accounts and lists all exempted programs. The report also urges Congress to replace the inflexible sequester with a “comprehensive and balanced deficit reduction package” that includes both spending cuts and new revenue.
Read more at CQ.com: White House Details ‘Deeply Destructive’ Automatic Cuts Under Sequester