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Press Release Published: Mar 14, 2013

Oversight Subcommittees Question Agencies’ Plans for Sequester

WASHINGTON – Chairman Jim Jordan(R-OH) and Chairman Blake Farenthold will convene a joint subcommittee hearing Tuesday, March 19th at 1:30 p.m. to examine and contrast how three federal agencies are implementing mandatory budget cuts enacted by sequestration over the coming months.

The federal government has known about the looming budget cuts since August 2011, yet some agencies seemingly failed to establish a plan for mitigating the impact of sequestration before it was enacted on March 1st. As a result, agencies have taken contrasting approaches to the sequester with some indicating plans to furlough employees while others have indentified ways to cut spending and avoid furloughs.

This is the one of the first congressional hearings to question how agencies are prioritizing the $85 billion across-the-board spending cuts required by sequestration in 2013 and the extent of their efforts to avoid furloughs and mitigate the effects of cuts on the public.

The Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs and the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and the Census will discuss these issues, among others, with representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Hearing Details:
Tuesday, March 19th
“Joint Hearing: Sequestration Oversight: Understanding the Administration’s Decisions on Spending Cuts and Furloughs”
Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs, Chairman Jim Jordon (R-OH) and the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and the Census, Chairman Blake Farenthold (R-TX)
1:30 p.m. in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building and streaming live at Oversight.House.Gov

Witnesses:
Mr. David Robbins
Managing Director
Federal Communications Commission

Mr. Michael Young
USDA Budget Director
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Mr. Hari Sastry
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Resource Management
U.S. Department of Commerce

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