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1 1 (2020)

handle is hein.congrec/cbofnsqr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: .... .. JA NUARY 20200 Final Sequestration Report for Fiscal Year 2020 After a session of Congress ends, the Congressional Budget Office is required to issue a report that provides estimates of the limits (often called caps) on discretion- ary budget authority that are in effect through 2021.1 CBO also must report whether, according to its esti- mates, enacted legislation for the current fiscal year has exceeded the caps and thus would trigger a cancellation of budgetary resources, known as a sequestration. In CBO's estimation, a sequestration will not be required for 2020. However, the authority to make that determination-and, if so, how to cut budget authority-rests with the Administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Those determinations are based on OMB's own estimates of federal spending. Limits on Discretionary Budget Authority for 2020 The Budget Control Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-25) has been modified several times to increase the caps on funding for the government's defense (called security in the law) and nondefense (nonsecurity) programs. Most recently, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-37) set the limits for 2020 at $1,288 billion-$666.5 billion 1. Budget authority is the authority provided by law to incur financial obligations that will result in immediate or future outlays of federal funds. Discretionary budget authority is provided and controlled by annual appropriation acts. for defense programs and $621.5 billion for nondefense programs. By law, however, the caps are adjusted upward when appropriations are provided for certain purposes. Specifically, budget authority that is designated for overseas contingency operations, such as military activi- ties in Afghanistan, or for emergency requirements leads to an increase in the caps. In addition, the caps are adjusted for budget authority that is designated for some types of disaster relief, the 2020 census, wildfire suppression, and certain program integrity initiatives.2 To date, CBO estimates, funding that will cause adjust- ments to the caps for 2020 has totaled $112 billion (see Table 1). Most of that amount, $72 billion, is an increase to the defense cap to account for budget authority pro- vided for overseas contingency operations. The defense cap also will be adjusted by $8 billion for funding desig- nated for emergency requirements. Adjustments to the nondefense cap will total $33 billion, according to CBO's estimates: $8 billion for overseas contingency operations, $18 billion for disaster relief, $1 billion for emergency requirements, $3 billion for the 2020 census, $2 billion 2. Program integrity initiatives seek to identify and reduce overpayments in certain benefit programs, including Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment compensation, and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Notes: All years referred to are federal fiscal years, which run from October 1 to September 30 and are designated by the calendar year in which they end. Numbers may not add up to totals because of rounding.

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