U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

69–011 2017

115th Congress, 1st Session – – – – – – – – – – – – – House Document 115–46 

OMB FINAL SEQUESTRATION REPORT TO THE 

PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017 

COMMUNICATION 

FROM

THE DIRECTOR, THE OFFICE OF 

MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET 

TRANSMITTING

OMB’S FINAL SEQUESTRATION REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017, 

PURSUANT TO 2 U.S.C. 904(f)(1); PUBLIC LAW 99–177, SEC. 254 

(AS AMENDED BY PUBLIC LAW 112–25, SEC. 103); (125 STAT. 246) 

JUNE 8, 2017.—Referred to the Committee on the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


E:\Seals\Congress.#13
(1) 

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, 

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, 

Washington, DC, May 19, 2017. 

Hon. PAUL D. RYAN, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. SPEAKER: Enclosed please find the OMB Final Sequestration Report to the President and Congress for Fiscal Year 2017, 

which has been prepared pursuant to section 254 of the Balanced 

Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA). This 

report was originally due 15 days after the end of the last Congressional session. However, section 184 of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2017 (division C of Public Law 114–223, as amended by 

division A of Public Law 114–254 and further amended by Public 

Law 115–30) delayed the report until 15 days after expiration of 

the 2017 continuing resolution. 

As required by BBEDCA, this report provides the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) current estimates of the discretionary spending limits for each category, OMB’s scoring of the enacted 2017 discretionary appropriations bills compared to those 

limits, and comparisons of OMB’s estimates with the estimates provided by the Congressional Budget Office in its Final Sequestration 

Report for Fiscal Year 2017. 

Based on the estimates in this report, enacted appropriations are 

within the discretionary spending limits for 2017, and a sequestration of discretionary budget authority pursuant to section 251 of 

BBEDCA is not required. 

Sincerely, 

MICK MULVANEY, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

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OMB Final Sequestration 

Report to the President and 

Congress for Fiscal Year 2017 

May 19,2017 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 

Transmittal Letter ................................................................................................................................. iii 

I. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 

II. Discretionary Final Sequestration Report ..................................................................................... 3 

LIST OF TABLES Page 

Table 1. Overview of Changes to Discretionary Spending Limits ..................................................... 4 

Table 2. Discretionary Spending Limits .............................................................................................. 5 

Table 3. Status of 2016 Discretionary Appropriations ....................................................................... 8 

Table 4. Summary of 2017 Appropriations Action .............................................................................. 9 

Table 5. Comparison of OMB and CBO Discretionary Spending Limits ......................................... lO 

GENERAL NOTES 

l. All years referred to are fiscal years unless otherwise noted. 

2. Details in the tables and text may not add to totals due to 

rounding. 
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I. INTRODUCTION 

The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; Public 

Law 112-25) amended the Balanced Budget and 

Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA) by 

reinstating BBEDC~s spending limits on discretionary budget authority for the period of 2012 through 

2021. The 2013 and 2014 limits were revised by the 

American Taxpayer Relief Act of ~012 (ATRA; Public 

Law 112-240), and the 2014 and 2015 limits were 

further revised by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 

(BBA of2013; Public Law 113-67). The 2016 and 2017 

limits were revised by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 

2015 (BBA of2015; Public Law 114-74). 

Section 254 of BBEDCA requires the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to issue a final sequestration report 15 days after the Congress ends 

a session to determine whether a sequestration of 

discretionary budget authority is required, based on 

OMB's scoring of enacted discretionary appropriations against the applicable discretionary spending 

limits. Section 184 of the Continuing Appropriations 

Act, 2017 (division C of Public Law 114-223, as amended by division A of Public Law 114-254 and further 

amended by Public Law 115-30) (the CR) delayed the 

release of this report until15 days after May 5, 2017, 

to provide more time for the Congress to complete the 

remaining appropriations Acts for 2017. 

Supplemental appropriations for 2016 and one of 

twelve appropriations Acts for 2017 were enacted 

when the Continuing Appropriations and Military 

Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act, 2017 and Zika Response and 

Preparedness Act (Public Law 114-223) became law 

on September 29, 2016. Additional full-year appropriations were provided for 2017 when the Security 

Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017 (division B of 

Public Law 114-254) (the 2017 SAA) became law on 

December 10, 2016. OMB released its scoring for 

each of these Acts on October 11 and December 20, 

respectively. 1 

The remaining 11 appropriations Acts for 2017 were 

enacted when the President signed the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2017 (CAA of 2017; Public Law 

115-31), on May 5, 2017. OMB completed its scoring 

estimates of that Act and released its Seven-DayAfter Report' detailing those estimates on May 16, 

2017, in accordance with the requirements of section 

25l(a)(7) ofBBEDCA. 

This final sequestration report provides OMB's current estimates of the discretionary spending limits for 

each category in BBEDCA, a summary of OMB's scoring of the enacted 2016 supplemental and 2017 discretionary appropriations compared to those limits, 

an update to the preview estimate (or funding ceiling) 

of the disaster relief adjustment for 2017, and comparisons of OMB's estimated limits with those provided by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in its 

Final Sequestration Report for Fiscal Year 2017. As 

required, OMB's scoring for 2017 estimates rely on 

the same economic and technical assumptions used 

in the 2017 Budget, which was transmitted to the 

Congress on February 9, 2016. This report covers appropriations legislation enacted through May 5, 2017, 

and indicates that no sequestration of discretionary 

budget authority is required. 

1 OMB's Seven-Day-After Reports for the previous 

Administration can be found on the following archive site: 

https: II obamawhitehouse.archives.gov I omb I legislatiue_reports I BEA_reports. 

2 OMB's Seven-Day-After Reports for the current Administration can be found on OMB's website: https:l lwww. 

whitehouse.gou I omb I public-releases. 
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II. DISCRETIONARY FINAL SEQUESTRATION REPORT 

BBEDCA requires OMB to issue reports containing OMB's scoring of individual appropriations bills 

within seven business days of their enactment and, 

three times a year, on the overall status of discretionary legislation against the current law discretionary 

spending limits. Any enacted discretionary appropriations that OMB estimates to exceed the discretionary 

spending limits trigger an across-the-board reduction 

(i.e., sequestration) to eliminate the excess funding. 

This report meets the requirement for OMB to issue 

a final sequestration report for 2017. As BBEDCA requires, the estimates rely on the same economic and 

technical assumptions used in the President's 2017 

Budget, which was transmitted to the Congress on 

February 9, 2016. 

Discretionary programs are funded annually 

through the appropriations process. BBEDCA sets 

limits (or "caps") on the amount of new budget authority available for discretionary programs each 

year through 2021, but it does not require that the 

Congress appropriate the full amount available 

under the discretionary limits. For 2012 and 2013, 

BBEDCA originally specified separate "security" 

and "nonsecurity" categories 3 for discretionary 

programs and then a single "discretionary" category for each year after 2013. These caps were subsequently revised pursuant to section 302 of the BCA 

as a result of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit 

Reduction's failure to propose, and the Congress' 

failure to enact, legislation to reduce the deficit 

by more than $1.2 trillion by January 15, 2012. 

The revised security ("defense") category included 

only the discretionary programs in the national 

defense budget function (050), which mainly consists of the Department of Defense and significant 

portions of agency budgets for the Department of 

Energy (including the National Nuclear Security 

Administration) and the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation. The revised nonsecurity C'non-defense") category contained all discretionary programs not in the defense category-essentially all 

non-defense (or non-050) budget functions. 

3 For more information on the structure of the original security and nonsecurity categories, see any of OMB's sequestration 

reports to the Pre,sident and the Congress for fiscal years 2012 

through 2014, which are available at the following archive site: 

https,· I I obamawhi.tehouse.archiues.gou I omb I legislatiue_re· 

ports I sequestration. 

In OMB's 2016 preview report', the 2016 caps were 

reduced pursuant to section 251A of BBEDCA to incorporate the portion of Joint Committee reductions 

allocated to discretionary spending. The defense cap 

was reduced by $53.9 billion and the non-defense cap 

was reduced by $36.5 billion. The BBA of 2015 restored $25.0 billion each ($50.0 billion in total) to the 

2016 defense and non-defense categories and replaced 

the reductions for 2017 that would have taken place 

with smaller reductions of $38.9 billion to the defense 

cap and $22.5 billion to the non-defense cap. No further changes have been made to the base 2017 caps 

before this report. After 2017, in the absence of further congressional action, section 251A of BBEDCA 

requires reductions to the current discretionary caps 

for 2018 through 2021. The 2018 reductions are being finalized and will be provided in the forthcoming 

Sequestration Preview Report for 2018. After 2018, 

the precise amount of the reductions are unknown 

at this time and will depend on the relative size of 

sequestrable mandatory outlays in the baseline in future Budgets. Since these reductions are either being 

finalized or unknown and not required at this time, 

they are not reflected in the caps shown in this report. 

OMB is required by statute to report on the current 

discretionary caps in this report. Table 1 summarizes 

the original caps enacted in the BCA and all changes 

to date that have been made to those caps. Table 2 

shows the current law caps, including the changes to 

2016 and 2017 required by section 101(a) of the BBA 

of 2015. Table 2 shows further adjustments to the 

caps for 2016 and 2017 for amounts included in 2016 

supplemental and 2017 full~year appropriations Acts, 

which are discussed in the next section. 

Adjustments to discretionary limits. 

Table 2 shows how adjustments pursuant to section 251(b) of BBEDCA affect the discretionary 

limits for 2016 and 2017. Section 251(b)(1) allows 

adjustments for concepts and definitions in OMB's 

Sequestration Preview Report, which is transmitted with the President's Budget, and section 251(b) 

(2) authorizes certain adjustments after the enact4 See OMB Sequestration Preview Report to the President and 

Congress for Fiscal Year 2016 on at the following archive site 

for more information: https: II obamawhitehouse.archives.gov I 

omb llegislat ive_reports I sequestratWn. 
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OMB FINAL SEQUESTRATION REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017 

Table 1. OVERVIEW OF CHANGES TO DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS (Net budget authority in billions of dollars) 

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 

Original limits set in Title I of the Budget Control Act of 2011: 

Security Category ... 684.0 686.0 N/A NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA 

N onsecurity Category . 359.0 361.0 NIA NIA N/A NIA NIA NIA N/A NIA 

Discretionary Category .. NIA NIA 1,066.0 1,086.0 1,107.0 1,131.0 1,156.0 1,182.0 1,208.0 1,234.0 

Redefinition of limits pursuant to section 251A ofBBEDCA: 

Security Category ... -686.0 N/A NIA NIA NIA NIA N/A N/A NIA 

Nonsecurity Category . -361.0 NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA 

Discretionary Category ... NIA NIA -1,066.0 -1,086.0 -1,107.0 -1,131.0 -1,156.0 -1,182.0 -1,208.0 -1,234.0 

Defense Category . NIA +546.0 +556.0 +566.0 +577.0 +590.0 +603.0 +616.0 +630.0 +644.0 

Non-Defense Category . NIA +501.0 +510.0 +520.0 +530.0 +541.0 +553.0 +566.0 +578.0 +590.0 

Adjustments pursuant to section 901(d) ofATRA; 

Security Category .. +684.0 NIA NIA NIA N/A NIA NIA NJA NIA 

Nonsecurity Category . +359.0 NIA NIA NIA NIA N/A NIA NIA NIA 

Defense Category . NIA -546.0 -4.0 

Non-Defense Category . NIA -501.0 -4.0 

Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction Enforcement: 

Defense Category . N/A NIA -53.9 -53.9 

Non-Defense Category . NIA N/A -36.6 -36.5 

Adjustments pursuant to section 101(a) of2013 BBA: 

Defense Category , . NIA NIA +22.4 -44.7 

Non-Defense Category . NIA NIA +22.4 -27.6 

Adjustments pursuant to section 101(a) of2015 BBA: 

Defense Category . NIA NIA NIA NIA +25.0 -38.9 

Non-Defense Category . N/A NIA NIA NIA +25.0 -22.5 

Enacted adjustments pursuant to section 251(b)(2) ofBBEDCA: 

OCO/GWOT: 

Security Category ... +126.5 +98.7 NIA NIA N/A NIA N/A NIA NIA N/A 

Defense Category .. N/A NIA +85.4 +64.4 +58.8 +82.9 

Non-Defense Category . NIA NIA +6.5 +9.3 +14.9 +20.8 

Emergency REquirements: 

Security Category .. +7.0 N/A NIA N/A N/A NIA NIA NIA NIA 

Nonsecurity Category .... +34.6 N/A N/A N/A NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA 

Defense Category . NIA N/A +0.2 +0.1 

Non-Defense Category . NIA NIA +5.3 +1.7 +4.1 

Program Integrity: 

Nonsecurity Category . +0.5 +0.5 N/A N/A NIA NIA N/A N/A NIA NIA 

Non-Defense Category . NIA N/A +0.9 +1.5 +1.5 +2.0 

Disaster Relief: 

Security Category .. +6.4 +11.8 NIA NIA NIA N/A N/A NIA NIA NIA 

Nonsecurity Category . +4.1 N/A NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA N/A N/A 

Non-Defense Category .. NIA NIA +5.6 +6.5 +7.6 +8.1 

Technical adjustments for scoring differences with CBO that are permitted under section 7 of Public Laws 113-76, 113-235, 114-113, and 115-31: 

Defense Category . NIA NIA +0.2 +0.0 +0.0 

Non-Defense Category . N/A NIA +0.2 

Revised Limits Included in the OMB Final Sequestration Report: 

Security Category ... 816.9 801.5 NIA N/A NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA 

Nonsecurity Category . 363.5 394.1 NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA N/A N/A NIA 

Discretionary Category .. NIA NIA NIA NIA N/A NIA NIA N/A NIA NIA 

Defense Category . NIA NIA 606.3 585.9 606.9 634.0 603.0 616.0 630.0 644.0 

Non-Defense Category .... NIA NIA 504.8 514.9 544.4 553.6 553.0 566.0 578.0 590.0 

NIA -Not Applicable 

4 
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OMB FINAL SEQUESTRATION REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017 

Table 2. DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS (Net budget authority in millions of dollars) 

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 

DEFENSE [OR "REY!SED SECURI:O:::l !<A::!:E!:!QRY 

Preview Report Spending Limit . 606,891 551,068 603,000 616,000 630,000 644,000 

No changes 

Update Report Spending Limit .. 606,891 551,068 603,000 616,000 630,000 644,000 

Adjustments for the Final Sequestration Report: 

Overseas Contingency Operations/Global 

War on Terrorism . +82,934 

Technical allowance for estimating 

differences with CBO . +3 

Subtotal, Defense Category Adjustments . +82,937 

Final Seguestration Re£Qrt SE;ending Limit . 606,891 634,005 603,000 616,000 630,000 644,000 

l'IDN-DEEENSE (QR "REY!SEI! l'IDNSE!:l.1RID::l QAD!:!QRX 

Preview &port Spending Limit .. 542,982 518,531 553,000 566,000 578,000 590,000 

No changes 

Update Report Spending Limit . 542,982 518,531 553,000 566,000 578,000 590,000 

Adjustments for the Final Sequestration Report; 

Emergency Requirements .. +878 +4,148 

Overseas Contingency Operations/Global 

War on Terrorism . +20,785 

Social Security Dedicated Program Integrity .. +1,546 

Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control . +414 

Disaster Relief ..... +500 +8 129 

Subtotal, Non-Defense Category Adjustments . +1,378 +35,022 

Final Seguestration Re:e:ort S~ndins: Limit . . 544,360 553,553 553,000 566,000 578,000 590,000 

TOTAL DISCRETIONARY FIJNDING 

Preview Report, Total Discretionary Spending . 

Update Report, Total Discretionary Spending . 

Final Sequestration Report, 

Total Discretionar~ S;eendins, .. 

N/A =Not Applicable 

ment of appropriations Acts. In addition, section 7 

of the CAA of 2017 requires an adjustment for OMB 

estimating differences with CBO for 2017 if OMB estimates that new budget authority exceeds the discretionary spending limit for any category set forth 

in section 251(c) of BBEDCA. With supplemental 

appropriations for 2016 and full-year appropriations 

for 2017 enacted, the following adjustments are now 

made to the 2016 and 2017 defense and non-defense 

base caps in Table 2: 

Emergency Requirement and Overseas Contingency 

Operations/Global War on Terrorism (OCO!GWOT) 

Appropriations.-These adjustments are authorized 

in section 251(b)(2)(A) of BBEDCA and include funding for amounts that the Congress designates in law 

1,149,873 1,069,599 1,156,000 1,182,000 1,208,000 1,234,000 

1,149,873 1,069,599 1,156,000 1,182,000 1,208,000 1,234,000 

1151251 1187 558 1156,000 1 182 000 11

2081ooo 1,234,000 

as being either an emergency requirement or for OCO/ 

GWOT activities on an account-by-account basis and 

that the President subsequently so designates. 

Emergency Requirements. For 2016, a net total adjustment of $878 million is made in Table 2 to the nondefense cap for appropriations that were provided as 

emergency requirements in divisions B, C, and D of 

Public Law 114-223. This included a combined total 

of $1,109 million in funding for the Departments of 

Health and Human Services (HHS) and State, and 

the US. Agency for International Development to respond to the outbreak of the Zika virus. As a partial 

offset to the Zika appropriations, a total of $231 million of previously appropriated emergency amounts 

were rescinded from the Departments of Commerce, 
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OMB FINAL SEQUESTRATION REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017 

Homeland Security, State, and Transportation. A net 

zero transfer of emergency balances between accounts 

in the Department of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD) was also provided. 

For 2017, a net adjustment of$4,148 million is made 

to the non-defense cap for emergency requirements 

designated in the CAA of 2017. These were mostly 

provided for disaster assistance and response and for 

wildfire suppression efforts. These amounts also include emergency appropriations that were provided 

within the CR but have been subsumed into final OMB 

scoring of the CAA of 2017. The component amounts 

appropriated are as follows: 

• $206 million provided in the 2017 Agriculture 

and Rural Development Appropriations Act (division A of the CAA of 20 17); 

• $184 million provided in the 2017 Commerce, 

Justice, Science, and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act (division B of the CAA of 

2017); 

• $1,026 million provided in the 2017 Energy 

and Water Development and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act (division D of the CAA of 

2017); 

• $407 million provided in the 2017 Department of 

the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act (division G of the CAA of 

2017); and 

• $2,325 million provided in the 2017 

Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act (division K of the CAA of 

2017). 

In addition, there is a net zero transfer of emer~ 

gency balances in the 2017 Department of Homeland 

Security Appropriations Act (division F of the CAA 

of 2017) from the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency's Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program 

Account to its Disaster Relief Fund. 

• $76,573 million in defense funds provided in the 

2017 Department of Defense Appropriations Act 

(division C of the CAA of2017); 

• $163 million in defense funds provided in 

the 2017 Department of Homeland Security 

Appropriations Act (division F of the CAA of 

2017); 

• $172 million in defense funds provided in the 

2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, 

and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (division A of Public Law 114-223); 

• $249 million in defense funds provided in the 

2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs 

-Additional Appropriations Act (division L of the 

CAA of 20 17); 

• $16,485 million in non-defense funds provided in 

the 2017 Department ofState, Foreign Operations, 

and Related Programs Appropriations Act (division J of the CAAof2017); and 

• $10,077 million in funds provided in the 2017 

SAA, with $5,777 million for defense and $4,300 

million for non-defense. 

The combined adjustment for all of these amounts 

increases the defense category by $82,934 million (for 

OCO/GWOT activities) and the non-defense category 

by $24,933 million (for OCO/GWOT and emergency 

requirements). 

The Congress designated as emergency requirements and as OCO/GWOT the amounts in the CAA 

of 2017, as appropriate, and the President transmitted to the Congress his separate designations of these 

amounts as emergency requirements or as OCO/ 

GWOT activities, as appropriate, on May 5, 2017. For 

any emergency amounts subsumed into OMB scor~ 

ing of the CAA of2017 and OCO amounts included in 

the 2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs 

Appropriations Act and 2017 SAA, the Congress included its designations in division A of Public Law 

114-223, the CR, and the 2017 SAA, and President 

Obama transmitted to the Congress his subsequent 

The CAA of 2017, along with the 2017 Military designations of these amounts on September 29,2016 

Construction and Veterans Affairs and the 2017 and on December 10, 2016. 5 

Security Assistance Appropriations Acts, provided 

a total of $103,719 million (including rescissions) 

for OCO/GWOT purposes for 2017. The component 

amounts appropriated are as follows: 

5 Presidential designations for the current Administration of emergency requirements and OCO/GWOT amounts can be 

found on OMB's website: http://www.whitehouse.goulombl 

budget_amendments. Presidential designations for the previous 

Administration can be found on the archive site: https: I I obam· 

awhitehouse.archives.gou I omb I budget_amendments. 
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OMB FINAL SEQUESTRATION REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017 

Social Security Dedicated Program lntegrity.-

Section 251(b)(2)(B) of BBEDCA authorizes adjustment to the caps by the amounts appropriated for 

Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs) and redeterminations. CDRs are periodic reevaluations con~ 

ducted to determine if recipients of Social Security 

disability insurance benefits and Supplemental 

Security Income (SSI) for persons with disabilities 

still qualify for benefits. Redeterminations are periodic reviews of non-medical factors of eligibility, 

such as income and resources, for the means-tested 

SSI program, and generally result in a revision of 

the individual's benefit level. SSA may also use cap 

adjustment funds for work CDRs, cooperative disability investigation units, and special attorneys for 

fraud prosecutions. The maximum cap adjustment 

in each year is limited to the levels of budget authority specified in BBEDCA, provided that a base level 

of $273 million is provided for these purposes in the 

underlying appropriations bill. Appropriations in 

the 2017 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations 

Act in division H of the CAA of2017 provided a base 

level of $273 million and $1,546 million as a cap 

adjustment for these purposes-the maximum allowable adjustment specified for 2017 in BBEDCA. 

This adjustment is allocated entirely to the non-defense category. 

Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC).-

Section 251(b)(2)(C) of BBEDCA authorizes adjustments to the caps by amounts appropriated 

for HCFAC activities, which include efforts to reduce the Medicare improper payment rate and 

strengthen the Health Care Fraud Prevention and 

Enforcement Action Team initiative. The maximum 

HCFAC cap adjustment in each year is limited to 

the levels of budget authority specified in BBEDCA, 

provided that a base level of $311 million for these 

purposes is provided in the underlying appropriations bill. Appropriations in the 2017 Labor, HHS, 

and Education Appropriations Act in division H of 

the CAA of 2017 provided a base level of $311 million and $414 million as a cap adjustment for these 

purposes-the maximum allowable adjustment 

specified for 2017 in BBEDCA. This adjustment is 

allocated entirely to the non-defense category. 

Revised 2017 Preview Estimate and Adjustments 

for Disaster Relief Funding.-Section 251(b)(2)(D) of 

BBEDCA authorizes an adjustment to the caps for appropriations that are designated by the Congress as 

being for disaster relief. BBEDCA sets a limit for the 

adjustment equal to the total of the average funding 

provided for disaster relief over the previous 10 years 

(excluding the highest and lowest years) plus any portion of the allowable adjustment (funding ceiling) for 

the previous year that was not appropriated. "Disaster 

relief" is defined as activities carried out pursuant to 

a determination under section 102(2) of the Robert T. 

Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act (Stafford Act) (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)). 

Section 103(2) of the BCA requires OMB to include 

in its August update report a preview estimate of 

the adjustment for disaster funding for the upcoming fiscal year. As required by law, OMB included in 

its Sequestration Update Report for 2017, released 

on August 19, 2016, a preview estimate of the 2017 

adjustment for disaster relief. The ceiling for the disaster relief adjustment in 2017 was calculated to 

be $8,566 million. However, after transmittal of the 

2017 Sequestration Update Report, the Continuing 

Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans 

Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017 

and Zika Response and Preparedness Act (Public Law 

114-223) was enacted, and division C of that Act provided $500 million in 2016 supplemental funding for 

HUD's Community Development Fund, designating 

that amount for disaster relief purposes. In the SevenDay-Mter Report for Public Law 114-223, released on 

October 11, 2016, OMB noted that the $500 million 

appropriation necessitates a change to the preview 

estimate for the disaster relief adjustment, and that 

the adjustment would be made in this final report. As 

noted in the update report, the annual disaster relief 

adjustment ceiling is determined through a formula 

in section 251(b)(2)(D) of BBEDCA that determines 

the average for the previous 10 years (less the highest and lowest years) and adds any unused portion for 

the ceiling (or «carryover") from the previous year. The 

additional $500 million in 2016 effectively increases 

the 10-year average to $7,031 million but reduces the 

carryover for 2017 from $1,598 to $1,098 million. The 

combination of these changes yields a revised disaster 

relief preview estimate for 2017 of$8,129 million. 

For 2017, the Congress has provided the full amount 

available under the ceiling with appropriations total-
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OME FINAL SEQUESTRATION REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017 

ing $8,129 million that are designated for disaster 

relief. The component amounts appropriated are as 

follows: 

• $6,713 million is for the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) 

in the 2017 Department of Homeland Security 

Appropriations Act (division F of the CAA of2017); 

and 

• $1,416 million is for the HUD's Community 

Development Fund that was provided in the 2017 

CR, but is now subsumed into OMB estimate of the 

2017 Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act (division K of the CAA of2017). 

Accordingly, Table 2 allocates this combined adjustment of$8,129 million entirely to the non-defense category. In addition, Table 2 also reflects the $500 million in supplemental funding provided to HUD. Since 

the amounts enacted as full-year appropriations for 

disaster relief in 2017 are at the preview adjustment 

estimate, OMB currently anticipates that no amounts 

pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(D)(i)(Il) ofEEEDCA will 

carry forward into the calculation of the 2018 preview 

estimate when OME issues in August 2017 its 2018 

Sequestration Update Report. 

Technical Allowance for Estimating Differences.-

This allowance, specified in section 7 of the CAA of 

2017, requires OME to adjust the spending limit for 

any category in 2017 when new budget authority provided in an appropriations Act exceeds such discre~ 

tionary spending limit due to estimating differences 

with CEO. The adjustment is equal to the amount of 

the excess in a category, but the total of all such adjustments for any category cannot exceed 0.2 percent 

of the sum of the adjusted discretionary caps for all 

categories for that fiscal year. As detailed in its 2017 

Seven-Day-After Report for the CAA of2017, OME has 

an estimating difference of $3 million with CEO for 

appropriations provided under the defense category 

for 2017, which would cause OME estimates to exceed 

the defense cap. With the adjustments included above, 

OME estimates that the adjusted defense and nondefense caps for 2017 total $1,187.555 billion, which 

permits a maximum technical adjustment for 2017 of 

$2.375 billion. Since the $3 million is within the maximum allowable technical adjustment for 2017, the defense cap is adjusted upward by $3 million, and total 

Table 3. STATUS OF 2016 

DISCRETIONARY APPROPRIATIONS (Net budget authority in millions of dollars) 

Budget 

Authority 

Defense Category 

Adjusted discretionary spending limit ,,,,, 

Total ena-cted appropriations .... 

Spending over ( + )Iunder ( ) limit .. 

Non-Defense Category 

Adjusted discretionary spending limit .. 

Total enacted appropriations .... 

Spending over (+)/under(-) limit . 

606,891 

606,890 

-1 

544,360 

544,192 

-168 

Total Discretionary Spending-All Categories 

Adjusted discretionary spending limits . 1,151,251 

Total enacted appropriations .. 

Spending over (+)/under ( ) limits . 

1,151,082 

169 

enacted appropriations do not exceed the adjusted 

non-defense cap. 

Summary of current year (Fiscal Year 

2016) discretionary appropriations. 

Section 254(f)(2) of EEEDCA requires the final sequestration report to summarize the status of enacted 

"current year" discretionary appropriations, relative 

to the discretionary caps. Table 3 summarizes the 

status of enacted 2016 discretionary appropriations, 

relative to the discretionary caps for 2016. The caps 

include all adjustments made to 2016 in the 2016 final 

sequestration report and in this final report for 2017. 

With these changes, the scoring for enacted budget authority for both categories for 2016 remains within the 

adjusted cap levels. 

Summary of enacted budget year (Fiscal 

Year 2017) discretionary appropriations. 

Section 254(f)(2) of EEEDCA requires the final sequestration report to summarize the status of enacted 

"budget year" discretionary appropriations, relative 

to the discretionary caps. Table 4 summarizes OME 

scoring ofthe fiscal year 2017 appropriations bills as 

measured against the 2017 caps. OME estimates that 

discretionary appropriations are at the defense cap 

while non-defense appropriations are under the nondefense cap. As a result, OME estimates that seques-
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OMB FINAL SEQUESTRATION REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017 

Table 4. SUMMARY OF 2017 APPROPRIATIONS ACTION' (Net budget authority in millions of dollars) 

DEFENSE CATEGORY 

Defense Appropriations: 

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies ., 

Defense .. 

Energy and Water Development .. 

Financial Services and General Government .. 

Homeland Security . , 

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs . 

Transportation and Housing and Urban Development . 

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs- Additional Appropriations .. 

Security Assistance Appropriations Act .. 

Total, Defense Appropriations . 

Final Sequestration Report Defense Category Limit .. 

CONGRESSIONAL ACTION OVER(+)IUNDER( ) LIMIT . 

NON-DEFENSE CATEGORY 

Non-Defense Appropriations: 

Agriculture and Rural Development ,. 

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies ..... 

Defense . 

Energy and Water Development , .. 

Financial Services and General G<.lvernment .. 

Homeland Security . 

Interior and Environment . 

Labor, HHS, and Education . 

Legislative Branch . 

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs . 

State and Foreign Operations . 

Transportation and Housing and Urban Development . 

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs· Additional Appropriations ... 

Security Assistance Appropriations Act .. 

Total, Non-Defense Appropriations ..... 

Final Sequestration Report Non· Defense Category Limit .. 

CONGRESSIONAL ACTION OVER(+)IUNDERH LIMIT . 

TOTAL DISCRETIONARY 

Total, Discretionary .. 

Final Sequestration Report Total Category Limits .. .,, 

CONGRESSIONAL ACTION OVER(+)IUNDER(-)TOTAL OF LIMITS . 

Memorandum: CURES appropriations 2 

Agriculture and Rural Development .. 

Labor, HHS, and Education .. 

Budget 

Authority 

5,200 

592,553 

19,957 

33 

2,039 

7,897 

300 

249 

,,,__.hlil. 

634,005 

634,005 

21,095 

51,645 

138 

18,818 

21,483 

47,263 

32,678 

163,110 

4,442 

74,598 

52,948 

59,432 

50 

··~ 552,000 

553,553 

-1,553 

1,186,005 

1,187,558 

-1,553 

20 

852 

1OMB scoring includes funds provided in each bill that have been designated as being for Overseas Contingency 

Operations/Global War on Terrorism, Emergency Requirements, Disaster Relief, or Program Integrity. 2 The 21st Century CURES Act permitted funds to be appropriated for certain activities and not counted towards 

the discretionary caps so long as the appropriations were specifically provided for the authorized purposes. These 

amounts are displayed outside the discretionary totals for this reason. 
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OME FINAL SEQUESTRATION REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017 

tration will not be required for either of the discretionary categories. 

Comparison of OMB and CBO 

discretionary limits. 

Section 254(f)( 4) of BBEDCA requires this report 

to include an explanation of the differences between 

OMB and CBO estimates for the discretionary caps. 

Table 5 compares OMB and CBO limits for fiscal years 

2017 through 2021. For 2017, both OME and CBO 

include the defense and non-defense caps from each 

agency's 2017 update report and make adjustments 

to the caps pursuant to section 251(b)(2) of BEE DCA. 

CBO's estimate of the defense cap is $5 million lower 

than OMB's estimate. This difference occurs because 

OMB increases the cap by $3 million for the adjustment for technical estimating differences, which is required by section 7 of the CAA of2017, and there exists an additional $2 million difference due to rounding 

differences for the OCOIGWOT cap adjustment. For 

the non-defense cap, CEO's estimate is equal to OME's 

estimate. 

For the 2018 through 2021 caps, CEO begins with 

the same levels as OME for the defense and non-defense caps. However, CEO includes approximate adjustments to account for the automatic enforcement 

procedures in section 251A ofBBEDCA. As noted previously, OMB does not include these reductions to the 

revised limits because they are not required in this 

report and the actual adjustments will depend on the 

estimate of sequestrable mandatory outlays in the 

baselines of the subsequent Budgets that are specific 

to those years. 

Although OME and CBO have very similar estimates 

of the 2017 caps, differences do exist in the amount of 

enacted 2017 discretionary budget authority that is 

scored against the caps. Detailed explanations of the 

differences in enacted, full-year discretionary budget 

authority, including the differences highlighted above 

that result in different revisions to the caps, are available in the separate seven-day-after reports that were 

issued subsequent to enactment of each discretionary 

appropriations Act (see the most current "Seven-DayAfter Reports" on OMB's website: https: I lwww.whitehouse.gov I omb I public-releases). 

Table 5. COMPARISON OF OMB AND CBO 

DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS (Net budget authority in millions of dollars) 

2018 2019 2020 2021 

CBO Final Report Limit 634,000 549,024 562,025 576,028 590,031 

OMB Final Report Limit , ... 634,005 603,000 616,000 630,000 644,000 

Difference +1- . . +5 +53 976 +53 975 +53 972 +53 969 

NON-DEEENSE CATEGQRY 

CBO Final Report Limit . . 553,553 515,666 529,202 542,288 554,595 

OMB Final Report Limit . 553,553 553,000 566,000 578,000 590,000 

Difference +1- . +37 334 +36 798 +35 712 +35 405 

TQTAL Ul!l(;I!J>T!QNAID: 

CBO Final Report, 

Total Discretionary 1,187,553 1,064,690 1,091,227 1,118,316 1,144,626 

OMB Final Report, 

Total Discretionary . 1,187,558 1,156,000 1,182,000 1,208,000 1,234,000 

Difference +1- .. +5 +91 310 +90 773 +89 684 +89 374 

NIA = Not Applicable 

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