Sequestration: Observations on the Department of Defense's Approach in Fiscal Year 2013

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Spending reductions under sequestration affected DOD’s civilian workforce and many programs and functions, and required DOD to accept some risk in maintaining the readiness of military forces. However, DOD was able to mitigate some near-term effects of sequestration on its mission. Reduced spending levels required DOD to take actions such as furloughing most civilian employees for 6 days, cancelling or curtailing training for units that were not preparing to deploy by early in 2014, postponing some planned equipment maintenance at its depots and repairs or renovations of facilities, reducing some weapon system quantities or deferring modifications, and delaying system development and testing. DOD took various actions to plan for and implement sequestration, such as issuing guidance and establishing processes to identify priorities and evaluate alternatives for spending reductions. Generally, DOD’s approach to sequestration was a short-term response focused on addressing the immediate funding reductions for fiscal year 2013. DOD was able to reduce spending levels for the remainder of fiscal year 2013 without making permanent changes, such as adjusting the size of its forces or canceling weapon systems programs. By setting priorities for funding and using available prior year unobligated balances to help meet required reductions, DOD was able to protect or minimize disruptions in certain key areas, such as maintaining support for ongoing operations and adhering to plans for major weapons systems acquisitions. In addition, because of the flexibility afforded from its reprogramming and transfer authorities, DOD was able to manage and, in some cases, later reverse some initial actions taken to implement the spending reductions, such as resuming aircraft training. DOD officials reported that some effects of the spending reductions were felt in fiscal year 2013 but that the full impact of sequestration would likely not be fully realized until fiscal year 2014 and beyond, and may vary by service. For example, DOD made adjustments to some of its procurement programs, such as deferring modifications or delaying system development and testing. DOD officials stated that some of these decisions may result in increased costs over the next few years.