Budget Control and Sequestration Considerations and Potential Impacts

Sequestration is a process of automatic, largely across-the-board spending reductions to meet or enforce certain budget policy goals. In the 1990s, sequestration was used to enforce statutory limits on discretionary spending and a pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirement on direct spending and revenue legislation. In general, sequestration entails the permanent cancellation of budgetary resources by a uniform percentage. This book examines the new considerations and potential impacts of budget control and sequestration with a focus on select program exemptions and special rules; the Budget Control Act of 2011; and the potential impact of automatic spending reduction procedures on health reform spending.