A continuing resolution is a type of appropriations legislation used by the United States Congress to fund government agencies if a formal appropriations bill has not been signed into law by the end of the Congressional fiscal year. The legislation takes the form of a joint resolution, and provides funding for existing federal programs at current or reduced levels.
Sequestration is a legal procedure in which automatic spending cuts are triggered, notably implemented in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The Budget Control Act passed by Congress in 2011 required DoD to cut $487 billion over 10 years from its budget.
A furlough is the placing of an employee in a temporary non-duty, non-pay status because of lack of work or funds, or other non-disciplinary reasons. An administrative furlough is a planned event by an agency which is designed to absorb reductions necessitated by downsizing, reduced funding, lack of work, or any budget situation other than a lapse in appropriations. Furloughs that would potentially result from sequestration would generally be considered administrative furloughs.
In the coming months, all DoD entities including DoDEA will confront significant uncertainty regarding the amount of budgetary resources available for the remainder of the fiscal year. This website will help DoDEA stakeholders stay informed about planning efforts to address this critical situation.
The Continuing Resolution (CR), which will remain in effect until at least March 27, 2013. The CR holds us to Fiscal Year (FY) 12 spending levels and permits no new program starts this year. Since we were expecting our budget to increase in FY 13, funds will run short at the current rate of expenditure if the CR continues through the end of the FY 13.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) of 2012 signed into law on January 2, 2013, deferred sequestration until March 1, 2013. The act averted much of what has become known as the "fiscal cliff." Although the bill mostly deals with automatic changes scheduled to take effect for tax rates and programs such as Medicare and unemployment insurance, it also makes several important changes to sequestration that affect the Department of Defense. Specifically, it delays sequestration by two months. This creates significant additional uncertainties for managing our operations.
All DoD entities are now developing plans outlining how we might handle a budget shortfall in FY 13 because of CR and potential sequestration budget uncertainties. It is important to note that planning does not assume that any of these unfortunate events will occur, only that we must be ready.
There are limited areas in our budget from which to generate any savings in the last six months of a budget cycle. Nonetheless, we have to be prepared to accomplish our mission to the best of our ability given the constraints that may affect our school system. We must operate in a strict culture of savings now. .
In all of our planning, we will offer steps that are reversible in the event that a budget resolution is reached in Congress. .
We will keep our employees, parents, and communities informed at each and every step along the way.
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