Sequestration... it's almost here

Friday, March 1 is the day sequestration takes effect. Many people are still wondering what is sequestration and what effect will it have. Luckily many news agencies, policy analysts and others have been diligent in making the effects of sequestration apparent. Here is an outline of some of the what and hows.

What is Sequestration?
from the USA.gov blog
Sequestration, sometimes called the sequester, is a process that automatically cuts the federal budget across all departments and agencies.
Congress included the threat of sequestration in the Budget Control Act of 2011 as a way to encourage compromise on deficit reduction efforts.
Congress couldn’t agree on a budget by the deadline set in the Budget Control Act, so mandatory budget cuts were scheduled to go into effect on January 2, 2013.
Congress stopped the cuts from happening by passing the American Taxpayer Relief Act on January 2. This law pushed the budget cuts back until March 1, 2013.
If Congress cannot agree on a budget to reduce the deficit by March 1, then sequestration would happen and $85 billion in spending cuts would go into effect.

What will be the effects of Sequestration?
The effects might not be immediate to all; however they could be far reaching. Here are several reports that outline the cuts by agency and the ultimate effect on the State of Oklahoma

• OMB Report Pursuant to the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 (P. L. 112–155)
  A report from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued on behalf of the President, that provides Congress with a breakdown of exempt and non-exempt budget accounts, an estimate of the funding reductions that would be required across non-exempt accounts, an explanation of the calculations in the report, and additional information on the potential implementation of the sequestration.
• The Impact of Sequestration
  Letters from Cabinet Secretaries to the Senate Committee on Appropriations outlining the potential effects of a sequester in federal agencies.
• Sequestration’s Impact on Oklahoma
  A special report from KWGS that provides specific dollar amounts and resulting loss in services to education, environment, defense, health, employment and law enforcement.
• Sequestration in Oklahoma: Jobs, public health programs at stake at state Health Department
• Effects of Sequestration on the Oklahoma Aerospace Industry
  A 2012 white paper from the State Chamber of Oklahoma