What is sequestration?

What is sequestration?
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By POLITICO STAFF |
7/19/12 2:19 PM EDT


It’s a wonky term long used in congressional appropriations staff rooms but now it’s one of the hottest political issues in Washington: Sequestration.

But what, exactly is a sequester?

Simply put, it’s the formal term for mandatory cuts to federal programs – the process of cordoning off money that may have been authorized by Congress but is now prohibited from being spent. Literally, the money is being “sequestered” – taken away from the federal agencies affected.

(Also on POLITICO: What's 'sequestration'? More are Googling term)

The process has been used over the years in other budgets, but now the federal government may be one of the biggest sequestrations of all time: $1.2 trillion in mandatory cuts – half from the military, half from domestic programs. The sequester was invented as part of the debt limit law last year and was meant to act as a punishment of sorts if the deficit supercommittee didn’t come up with a complete package to cut the deficit.

Since the supercommittee failed, the sequester will now go into effect starting next year – slashing more than $500 billion from the military alone – which is why the defense industry, Pentagon advocates and military contractors around the country are lobbying so hard to stop it.

Read more about: Pentagon, Defense, Sequester, Sequestration