Sequestration Caps. During consideration of the continuing appropriations bill for fiscal 2013 (H.R. 933), Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) moved to send the bill back to the House Appropriations Committee with instructions to report it back with an amendment striking the automatic sequestration cuts from the bill. Those cuts total $85 billion in fiscal 2013 – a relatively small amount compared to a total federal budget estimated at $3.68 trillion for fiscal 2013 in the budget Obama submitted to Congress in April.
The House rejected Peters\’ motion on March 6, 2013 by a vote of 188 to 231 (Roll Call 61). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the runaway federal spending needs to be reined in. Though the sequestration cuts are too small to solve the fiscal crisis, they are better than no cuts at all.
