Damage Control for Budget Act

No one in Washington seems to be particularly concerned about impending, automatic budget cuts in the Budget Control Act, write Jim Dyer and Scott Lilly.

Advancing Racial Equity and Justice, Building an Economy for All, Restoring Social Trust in Democracy, Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice, Budget, Infrastructure, Taxes +4 More

Once again, Congress is in the midst of a legislative session threatened by a problem of its own making and is uncertain about how, when or where to solve it. In nine months, a law on the books, the Budget Control Act of 2011, will wreak havoc not only on the operations of federal government, but our entire economy, if lawmakers do not agree on an alternative approach to cutting the budget.

Unfortunately, no one in Washington seems to be particularly concerned.

Lawmakers, agency heads, and even lobbyists are discounting the probability of the sequestration mandated in the Budget Control Act—the bill passed last summer to raise the debt limit. That legislation would cut most defense and nondefense discretionary spending by about 12 percent for the first nine months of 2013.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Washington Post. Click here to view the full article.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.