The Congressional Budget Office has said sequestration is not necessary for fiscal year 2017 because appropriations for defense and nondefense initiatives are respectively equivalent to the $634 billion and $553.6 billion adjusted caps on discretionary budget authority for the year.CBO said in the May 2017 report adjustments to discretionary budget limits for 2017 reached a total of $118 billion.
Those adjustments to the cap include overseas contingency operations, disaster relief, emergency requirements and program integrity initiatives such as disability insurance, Supplemental Security Income and Medicare programs.
Caps set in the Budget Control Act of 2011 for both defense and nondefense programs will rise from $1.156 trillion in fiscal 2018 to $1.234 trillion in fiscal 2021, according to the report.
CBO also predicts the overall cap on discretionary budget authority to increase from $1.065 trillion in FY 2018 to approximately $1.145 trillion by FY 2021.
The report noted that caps for defense initiatives will decline by approximately $54 billion between FY 2018 and FY 2021, while limits for nondefense programs will drop between $37.3 billion and $35.4 billion over the four-year period.
