AASHTO Journal, 1 March 2013
With no deal in sight, the automatic federal budget cuts, better known as sequestration, began taking place late Friday, March 1. The cuts will amount to just more than $85 billion, roughly $1 billion of which will come from the Federal Aviation Administration (see related AASHTO Journal Story).
President Obama was scheduled to meet with House and Senate leaders today to discuss the sequester.
Two legislative options to replace the sequester both failed in the Senate on Thursday. The Democratic plan would have authorized new revenue and added alternative savings, but it failed by a 51-49 vote with no Republican support. Senate Republicans proposed a plan to give up authority to the president to put in place the first spending reductions, though that plan failed by a vote of 38-62.