H.R. 5872, The Sequestration Transparency Act

Summary: The bill would require the President to submit to Congress a detailed preview of the sequestration required by the Budget Control Act and how the required spending cuts are to be implemented. Under the BCA, the spending authority of many federal departments and agencies will be reduced on January 2, 2013. After accounting for 18 percent in debt service savings, the required reductions amount to nearly $990 billion over 9 years – or $110 billion per year, with 50 percent of the cuts coming from defense. Thus, each year $55 billion in reductions will be necessary in both the defense and non-defense categories. Despite repeated requests by Congress, the Obama Administration has yet to disclose in detail their plan for implementing the required spending reductions for fiscal year 2013. H.R. 5872 would require the President to submit a report to Congress within 30 days of enactment that includes an estimate of the sequestration cuts that will be made to achieve the required reduction for each spending category. The bill would require the report to identify each account to be sequestered and provide estimates of the level of budgetary resources subject to sequestration and resulting reductions at the program, project, and activity level. House Republicans have passed legislation (H.R. 5652) to replace these cuts with responsible savings through reform while the Senate has yet to act.

Rep. Farenthold Votes: YES
Passed the House by a vote of 414-2