Sequestration Relief Act of 2013

To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to eliminate the section 251A sequestrations and to reduce the security and nonsecurity discretionary spending limits by $320 billion from fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2021, and to suspend the statutory limit on the public debt until February 1, 2017. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Sequestration Relief Act of 2013 2. Findings and purpose (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Congress must enact a comprehensive, deficit reduction plan to solve the country’s fiscal challenges and to promote national security, economic stability, and the continued growth and prosperity of the United States. (2) The keys to a comprehensive, deficit reduction solution are increased revenues and changes in mandatory spending. (3) The Budget Control Act of 2011 was enacted to avert a default on Federal debt obligations, and it reduced discretionary spending by approximately $1 trillion through fiscal year 2021. (4) Because the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction failed to recommend legislation providing an additional $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, Federal law mandates that the additional savings be sequestered. (5) Sequestration was designed as a forcing mechanism for an agreement on a comprehensive, deficit reduction plan. It has failed to produce the intended results. (6) It no longer makes sense to rely on sequestration as a forcing mechanism for a balanced solution. The costs to our government and to the economy are too great. (7) Under sequestration, automatic, indiscriminate cuts would be applied, through fiscal year 2021, to a wide variety of discretionary spending programs to achieve $1.2 trillion in savings, forestalling the sound planning needed for prudent and meaningful investments in national security, the workforce, transportation infrastructure, education, health care, public safety, housing, innovation, small business development, and many other facets of enduring national strength. (8) Even the prospect of sequestration is disruptive to regular order and to the congressional appropriations process, and it fosters damaging economic uncertainty, while short-term solutions only suspend the prospect and continue to undermine the certainty needed for economic recovery. (9) Therefore, Congress must eliminate the threat of sequestration. (10) Given the magnitude of the Federal deficit, it is likely that additional cuts to discretionary spending will be necessary for a comprehensive deficit reduction solution. (11) Congress must establish a manageable, long-term discretionary spending plan. An additional $320 billion in targetable cuts to discretionary appropriations from fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2021 represents one-third of the net amount that would have been indiscriminately cut by sequestration over fiscal years 2013 through 2021. (12) It is recognized that a reduction of $167 billion to discretionary appropriations within budget function 050 from fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2021 will affect the National Military Strategy. The Department of Defense is highly encouraged to revisit its current strategic guidance and to work closely with Congress in building a new National Military Strategy that accounts for available resource levels. (b) Purposes The purposes of this Act are to— (1) eliminate the threat of sequestration to the American economy; (2) offer the Federal Government, industry, and the American people the predictability that economic recovery demands; (3) enable the Congress to pass appropriations legislation in regular order with a clear discretionary spending budget and grant the legislative and executive branches of government the flexibility needed to identify and implement specific discretionary spending reductions in a responsible and deliberate manner; and (4) provide a practicable, long-term discretionary spending plan that will contribute to a comprehensive, balanced, long-term, deficit reduction solution that includes affordable revisions to mandatory spending and new revenues. 3. Repeal of section 251A sequestrations Section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is repealed. 4. $320 billion reduction in discretionary spending limits The discretionary spending limits set forth in paragraphs (3) through (10) of section 251(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 are amended to read as follows: (3) for fiscal year 2014— (A) for the security category, $546,000,000,000 in budget authority; and (B) for the nonsecurity category, $501,000,000,000 in budget authority; (4) with respect to fiscal year 2015— (A) for the security category, $550,000,000,000 in new budget authority; and (B) for the nonsecurity category, $505,000,000,000 in new budget authority; (5) with respect to fiscal year 2016— (A) for the security category, $559,000,000,000 in new budget authority; and (B) for the nonsecurity category, $513,000,000,000 in new budget authority; (6) with respect to fiscal year 2017— (A) for the security category, $569,000,000,000 in new budget authority; and (B) for the nonsecurity category, $522,000,000,000 in new budget authority; (7) with respect to fiscal year 2018— (A) for the security category, $579,000,000,000 in new budget authority; and (B) for the nonsecurity category, $531,000,000,000 in new budget authority; (8) with respect to fiscal year 2019— (A) for the security category, $589,500,000,000 in new budget authority; and (B) for the nonsecurity category, $541,000,000,000 in new budget authority; (9) with respect to fiscal year 2020— (A) for the security category, $602,500,000,000 in new budget authority; and (B) for the nonsecurity category, $553,000,000,000 in new budget authority; (10) with respect to fiscal year 2021— (A) for the security category, $616,000,000,000 in new budget authority; and (B) for the nonsecurity category, $565,000,000,000 in new budget authority; . 5. Definition of security category Section 250(c)(4)(B) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended to read as follows: (B) (i) For fiscal years 2012 and 2013, the term security category (ii) For fiscal years 2014 through 2021, the term security category . 6. Suspension of statutory limit on the public debt until February 1, 2017 Section 2 of the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking May 18, 2013 January 31, 2017 (2) in subsection (b), by striking May 19, 2013 February 1, 2017

Summary: Sequestration Relief Act of 2013 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Controlled Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), as amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011, to repeal automatic sequestration to enforce a specified budget goal. Reduces the discretionary spending limits for security and nonsecurity categories by $320 billion for FY2014-FY2021. Confines the current meaning of "security category" under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to FY2012-FY2013. Revises the definition of "security category" for FY2014-FY2021 to mean discretionary appropriations in all of budget function 050 (national defense). Amends the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 to suspend through January 31, 2017, the current $16.394 trillion public debt limit. Postpones until February 1, 2017, an automatic increase in the public debt limit to the extent that: (1) the face amount of obligations issued and the face amount of obligations whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the federal government (except guaranteed obligations held by the Secretary of the Treasury) outstanding on February 1, 2017, exceeds (2) the face amount of such obligations outstanding on the date of enactment of the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 (February 24, 2013). Prohibits an obligation from being taken into account unless its issuance was necessary to fund a commitment incurred by the federal government that required payment before February 1, 2017.