As required by law, CBO reports on whether appropriations enacted for the current fiscal year have exceeded the statutory caps on discretionary funding. In CBO’s estimation, they have not, and a sequestration will not be required for 2024.
Once the 12 annual appropriation acts for a fiscal year are enacted, section 254 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-177, as amended) requires the Congressional Budget Office to report estimates of the limits (often called caps) on discretionary budget authority that are in effect for that year. CBO also must report whether, according to its estimates, enacted legislation for the current fiscal year has exceeded those caps and thus would trigger a cancellation of budgetary resources, called a sequestration.
In CBO’s estimation, a sequestration will not be required for 2024. However, the authority to make that determination—and, if so, how to cut budgetary resources—rests with the Administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Those determinations are based on OMB’s own estimates of federal spending.
