The Pentagon has moved to take steps ahead of the March 1 deadline, including a hiring freeze and some spending reductions. Among lawmakers, there’s been no talk of having the kinds of rallies that occurred in 2012 to try and win over public support against the cuts.
“It’s not hyperbole anymore,” said Todd Harrison, a defense budget analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “What you are hearing now is some of the no-nonsense detailed planning coming out of the Pentagon.”
Harrison said there is still time for Congress to ramp up its efforts to stop sequestration, noting the tendency of Congress to wait until the last minute for fiscal deadlines.
“But I’m also not sure that we’re going to see a real effort to avoid sequestration,” Harrison said. “I don’t see any signs of urgency to figure out an alternative/.../”
Harrison said that some Republicans view the across-the-board cuts as preferable to the bipartisan alternative, which would likely include more revenues. Some Democrats, meanwhile, would prefer domestic discretionary cuts to an alternative of cuts to entitlements that would be on the table in a deal.
“Where does that leave you? I think the best hope right now for avoiding sequestration is another delay,” Harrison said, adding that he thought there was a “high likelihood” the cuts would take effect.
One way to address sequestration, he suggested, was to let it occur throughout the month of March, then include a solution with the 2013 budget when the continuing resolution expires March 27.