The Congressional Budget Office has said sequestration is not necessary for fiscal 2017 since appropriations for both defense and nondefense programs do not go beyond the caps on discretionary budget authority.CBO said in an August report that fiscal 2017 appropriations for defense programs based on the Office of Management and Budget estimates are equivalent to the $634-billion adjusted caps for 2017.
OMB’s estimated nondefense budget of $552 billion for fiscal 2017 is $1.5 billion below the adjusted cap of $553.5 billion, according to the report.
CBO said adjustments to discretionary budget limits for this year reached a total of $118 billion and those adjustments to the cap include overseas contingency operations, emergency requirements, disaster relief and program integrity initiatives such as Medicare and disability insurance programs.
Caps set in the Budget Control Act of 2011 for both defense and nondefense programs will climb from $1.156 trillion in fiscal 2018 to $1.234 trillion in fiscal 2021, the report noted.
CBO also estimates the overall cap on discretionary budget authority will drop by approximately $5 billion to $1.065 trillion in FY 2018, and then grow steadily to approximately $1.145 trillion by FY 2021.
