[20010319]RS20007_封存过程.pdf

Congressional Research Service ? The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS20007Updated March 19, 2001The Sequestration ProcessBill Heniff Jr.Consultant in American National GovernmentGovernment and Finance DivisionSequestration is the cancellation of budgetary resources for the purpose of enforcingstatutory budget limits and pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirements. This process istriggered automatically when these statutory limits or PAYGO rules have been violatedas a result of legislative actions.The sequestration process was first established in 1985 by the Balanced Budget andEmergency Deficit Control Act (title II of P.L. 99-177), commonly known as the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. Initially, the sequestration process was tied to annual maximumdeficit targets, declining to zero by a date certain, established by the law. If the budgetdeficit exceeded those target levels (plus a margin-of-error amount in some years),automatic across-the-board spending cuts would be triggered. The process was intendedto provide an incentive to Congress and the President to reduce the deficit throughlegislative action to avoid an automatic sequestration. The law