In a report required by law, CBO provides estimates of the caps on discretionary funding for each fiscal year through 2021. CBO concludes that the discretionary appropriations provided to date for 2015 do not exceed the caps for this year.
CBO is required by law to issue a report by August 15 of each year that provides estimates of the caps on discretionary budget authority in effect for each fiscal year through 2021. CBO has updated its estimates of the caps for 2015 since it issued its previous report on the topic in January 2015. In that earlier report, CBO estimated that the appropriations for 2015 did not exceed the caps. CBO’s assessment remains unchanged—the discretionary appropriations provided to date for 2015 do not exceed the caps, and thus, by CBO’s estimates, a further sequestration (or cancellation of budgetary resources) will not be required as a result of appropriation actions this year.
However, the authority to determine whether a sequestration is required and, if so, exactly how to make the necessary cuts in budget authority rests with the Administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB). That agency, in a report issued in March after enactment of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015 (Public Law 114-4), also found that, at that time, appropriations for 2015 were at or below the caps.
