Sequestration: What Does it Mean for Us?

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Alan W. Houseman

August 16, 2012

Here's a multiple choice question: what is sequestration?

A)    What the doctor tells you to do when you have the flu
B)    A new dance craze spreading on YouTube
C)    The latest Mars explorer
D)    Budgetary rules that could result in deep, automatic and indiscriminate spending cuts starting in January

If you answered "D," you're right. Recently, the Washington Post released a short video explaining what "sequester" means that is well worth viewing.

Sequestration was created in August 2011 as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which ended the showdown over raising the federal debt ceiling. Because Congress failed to come up with a deficit reduction plan, the Budget Control Act calls for $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts over the next decade, including nearly $500 billion in cuts to defense programs and $500 billion in cuts to "non-defense discretionary" programs-the term used to refer to spending on a wide range of domestic programs including education, health, human services, and labor.

Policymakers crafted the Act with the expectation that these indiscriminate cuts would be so devastating that lawmakers would be forced to come to the table before they would take effect and hammer out another, longer-term deal to responsibly get the government's fiscal house in order.

So far, there hasn't been action and these very real, very harmful cuts are still set to start Jan. 1, 2013.

Who Will Feel These Cuts?

Unless Congress acts to create a balanced package that includes budget savings and increased revenues, these cuts will hit families hard. Senator Harkin estimates that as a result of these cuts:

1.6 million fewer adults, dislocated workers and at-risk youth will have access to job training or education and employment services;
80,000 fewer children will receive child care subsidies, making it harder for their parents to go to work;
96,000+ fewer children will be served in Head Start; and
1.8 million fewer disadvantaged students will receive education services through Title I.

These are just some of the consequences if Congress doesn't act. For additional, state-specific information on how these cuts will impact children and families' access to programs, read Senator Harkin's report Under Threat.

Alan W. Houseman is Executive Director of CLASP.

This article was originally published by CLASP under the title, "What Is Sequestration and What Does it Mean for Hard-Working and Low-Income Families?" and is reprinted here with permission.