Sequestration: A history
Published On: Feb 26 2013 10:31:38 AM PST
Updated On: Apr 04 2013 05:36:57 AM PDT
Take a look at the history of sequestration from its first use in the 1980s to today’s cuts.
Brian Yaklyvich/ CNN
If the supercommittee failed, $85 billion in spending cuts -- also known as sequestration -- would hit, targeting both defense spending and other domestic spending starting Jan. 1, 2013. The proposal for including sequestration in the bill originated from members President Barack Obama’s administration and was agreed to by Congressional Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner. The theory was these cuts were so abhorred by both sides of the aisle that they would be forced to make a better compromise.
