Avionics News December 2012 - 4

It’s Time to Balance the Budget

n the November issue of Avionics News, Ric Peri resolution, and if Congress cannot agree on ways wrote an informative article about sequestration, to cut back the total (or does not pass a new, higher a topic we have recently heard much about from the budget resolution), then an “automatic” form of Aircraft Electronics Association, the Federal Avia- spending cutback takes place. This automatic spendtion Administration and various news outlets. So, ing cut is called sequestration. what exactly is sequestration? Under sequestration, an amount of money equal After some in-depth research, one of the best to the difference between the cap set in the budget definitions I discovered came from Paul resolution and the amount actually approJohnson and the political science departpriated is sequestered by the Treasury ment at Auburn University. He described and not handed over to the agencies to sequestration as follows: which it was originally appropriated by Originally a legal term referring generCongress. In theory, every agency has ally to the act of valuable property being the same percentage of its appropriation taken into custody by an agent of the withheld in order to take back the excescourt and locked away for safekeeping, sive spending on an “across-the-board” Jeanne Rauusually to prevent the property from being basis. However, Congress has chosen to Flattery disposed of or abused before a dispute exempt certain very large programs from over its ownership can be resolved. But, the sequestration process (for example, the term has been adapted by Congress in more Social Security and certain parts of the Defense recent years to describe a new fiscal policy proce- budget), and the number of exempted programs has dure originally provided for in the Gramm-Rudman- tended to increase over time – which means sequesHollings Deficit Reduction Act of 1985 – an effort tration would have to take back gigantic shares of to reform congressional voting procedures so as to the budgets of the remaining programs in order to make the size of the federal government’s budget achieve the total cutbacks required, virtually cripdeficit a matter of conscious choice rather than pling the activities of the non-exempted programs. simply the arithmetical outcome of a decentralized OK, so what does sequestration really mean? appropriations process in which no one ever looked Simply put, we should not spend more than we at the cumulative results until it was too late to make. change them. If the dozen or so appropriation bills As a small business owner, finance major and passed separately by Congress provide for total gov- treasurer of the AEA, I understand the importance ernment spending in excess of the limits Congress earlier laid down for itself in the annual budget Continued on page 32

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Avionics News December 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News December 2012
