Sessions Praises Bipartisan House Passage Of Sequestration Transparency Act
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: July 19, 2012
U.S.
Sen.
Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee,
praised the House of Representatives' passage of the Sequestration
Transparency Act (H.R.5872) in a nearly unanimous bipartisan vote of 414
to 2. The Sequestration Transparency Act would
require the Obama Administration to provide taxpayers and Congress with
its plan for implementing the required sequestration cuts for defense
and non-defense programs that are scheduled to occur on January 2, 2013:
Sessions
and Thune first spearheaded this issue
U.S.
Sen.
Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee,
praised the House of Representatives' passage of the Sequestration
Transparency Act (H.R.5872) in a nearly unanimous bipartisan vote of 414
to 2. The Sequestration Transparency Act would
require the Obama Administration to provide taxpayers and Congress with
its plan for implementing the required sequestration cuts for defense
and non-defense programs that are scheduled to occur on January 2, 2013:
Sessions
and Thune first spearheaded this issue when they introduced the
Senate companion of the Sequestration Transparency Act (S.3228) in May
of this year. Since then, the Senate adopted a similar reporting
requirement as part of an amendment to the Senate-passed Farm Bill. The
House and Senate Appropriations Committees have also
approved the FY 2013 Financial Services Appropriations bills that
include sequester reporting requirements based on the proposal authored
by Senators Thune
and Sessions.
"I am very glad that the House has adopted the Sequestration Transparency
Act," said Sessions.
"Under the sequester, in real dollars, the five-sixths
of the budget that are non-defense will increase 35 percent over 10
years while defense spending--just one-sixth of the budget--will decline
by 11 percent. Additionally, some of the largest and fastest growing
non-defense expenses of the government are totally
immune from any cuts whatsoever. These cuts are astoundingly
disproportionate and the American people are entitled to transparent
information about where they will fall."
The
Budget Control Act (BCA), enacted in August of 2011, triggered
across-the-board
spending reductions of $984 billion to be distributed evenly over nine
years, or $109.3 billion per year. Each year $54.7 billion in reductions
will be necessary to both defense and non-defense categories. The
defense sequester cuts are in addition to $487
billion in defense cuts over 10 years that were put in place last year
after the BCA took effect. Defense spending accounts for less than 20
percent of federal spending, but defense would bare half of the cuts
under sequestration. If sequestration does go into
effect, Congress risks turning back the clock on our military strength
to where it was before World War II.
The
report required by the Sequestration Transparency Act would not only
provide more transparency, but would also assist Congress in assessing
the long-term affect these cuts will have on our national defense, and
assist in its year-end legislative business, including fiscal year 2013
appropriations. The Thune-Sessions bill currently
has 33 cosponsors.
NOTE: To view a chart showing the effect of the sequester
on defense and non-defense spending, please click
here.
when they introduced the
Senate companion of the Sequestration Transparency Act (S.3228) in May
of this year. Since then, the Senate adopted a similar reporting
requirement as part of an amendment to the Senate-passed Farm Bill. The
House and Senate Appropriations Committees have also
approved the FY 2013 Financial Services Appropriations bills that
include sequester reporting requirements based on the proposal authored
by Senators Thune
and Sessions."I am very glad that the House has adopted the Sequestration Transparency
Act," said Sessions.
"Under the sequester, in real dollars, the five-sixths
of the budget that are non-defense will increase 35 percent over 10
years while defense spending--just one-sixth of the budget--will decline
by 11 percent. Additionally, some of the largest and fastest growing
non-defense expenses of the government are totally
immune from any cuts whatsoever. These cuts are astoundingly
disproportionate and the American people are entitled to transparent
information about where they will fall."
The
Budget Control Act (BCA), enacted in August of 2011, triggered
across-the-board
spending reductions of $984 billion to be distributed evenly over nine
years, or $109.3 billion per year. Each year $54.7 billion in reductions
will be necessary to both defense and non-defense categories. The
defense sequester cuts are in addition to $487
billion in defense cuts over 10 years that were put in place last year
after the BCA took effect. Defense spending accounts for less than 20
percent of federal spending, but defense would bare half of the cuts
under sequestration. If sequestration does go into
effect, Congress risks turning back the clock on our military strength
to where it was before World War II.
The
report required by the Sequestration Transparency Act would not only
provide more transparency, but would also assist Congress in assessing
the long-term affect these cuts will have on our national defense, and
assist in its year-end legislative business, including fiscal year 2013
appropriations. The Thune-Sessions bill currently
has 33 cosponsors.
NOTE: To view a chart showing the effect of the sequester
on defense and non-defense spending, please click
here.
