Last year, Congress hotly debated the national debt, and ultimately reached a deal and passed legislation (Budget Control Act of 2011, P.L. 112-25) that established caps on discretionary spending over 10 years, resulting in $1 trillion in cuts across defense and non-defense discretionary programs. The law also set up a 12-member bipartisan, bicameral Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the “super committee”. The super committee was charged with recommending proposals to produce $1.2 trillion in additional federal savings over 10 years. As a result of the failure of the “super committee” to reach agreement on a deficit reduction plan, a budget “sequester” (or sequestration) was triggered to take effect on January 2, 2013.
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