BioCentury
ARTICLE | Politics & Policy

OMB: act like there's no cliff

January 4, 2013 12:51 AM UTC

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 deferred the implementation of budget sequestration until March 1, but the White House has instructed federal agencies to behave as if sequestration will not happen. The bill was passed by Congress and signed by President Obama this week to address tax aspects of the "fiscal cliff." Federal agencies have received instructions from the White House to refer all questions about contingency planning for budget sequestration to the Office of Management and Budget, and an OMB official told BioCentury that federal agencies have been told to "continue normal spending and operations."

Advocates for NIH and FDA told BioCentury that the two-month delay provides time to lobby for a conventional appropriations process rather than the across-the-board cuts that would be imposed under sequestration. Sequestration could wipe out 25% of NIH grants this year and shoot a $320 million hole in the FDA budget (see BioCentury Extra, Jan. 2). ...