DOD prepares for potential sequestration

WASHINGTON — The Office of Management and Budget has instructed the Department of Defense to pursue internal planning to meet required budget cuts if sequestration goes into effect Jan. 3.

Sequestration is a mechanism enacted by Congress that will initiate severe across-the-government budget cuts if Congress and the president are unable to pass a budget that meets the requirements of the Budget Control Act of 2011.

For the DOD, sequestration would cut the defense budget by $500 billion over the next 10 years. These cuts would be in addition to the nearly $500 billion in cuts, during the same time frame, already directed by the 2011 BCA.

DOD officials have already been considering possible effects of sequestration, including communicating impacts to the DOD work force.

“Our focus has been on examining the potential impacts of sequestration,” said Dr. George Little, acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, during a Pentagon press availability, Dec. 5. “We know what the potential impacts might be, and that helps us create a baseline for what we need to plan against.”

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