CBO chief: Non-defense spending won’t see automatic cuts after April 30

Non-defense spending won’t see automatic spending cuts after April 30, 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

CBO Director Phillip Swagel wrote in a letter to House leaders that "nondefense funding" is $3 billion "below the section 102 non-defense cap ($736 billion), so no sequestration of non-defense budgetary resources would be required."

The CBO also reported that "defense funding that is constrained by the caps exceeds by $11 billion the FRA’s section 102 defense cap of $850 billion."

If the current continuing resolution remained in effect through April 30, 2024, the Office of Management and Budget would be required to cancel about 1% of "sequestrable defense budgetary resources on that date," according to the CBO.

Swagel's analysis was provided as an "update to its earlier estimate of the effects of a potential sequestration under the caps established by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA)."

Congress passed a bill to avoid a partial government shutdown last Friday. Another spending bill has to be passed by March 22 to keep the rest of the government funded through the remainder fiscal year 2024.

Congress is also currently working on passing a fiscal year 2025 budget.