From furloughs to hiring freezes, how did your agency deal with sequestration?

In a new report provided to the House Budget Committee, the Government Accountability Office provides more details of just how agencies coped with the mandatory...

This time last year, the across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration went into effect, lopping billions from planned federal spending.

At the time, agencies were predicting dire consequences, including hiring freezes, travel and training cuts and employee furloughs.

In a new report provided to the House Budget Committee, the Government Accountability Office provides more details of just how agencies coped with the steep spending reductions.

Nearly every agency surveyed by GAO canceled or limited monetary performance awards for employees, reduced spending on both travel and training and curtailed hiring after the cuts went into effect.

A total of seven agencies furloughed employees, including the departments of Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation and Treasury. The range of furlough days ranged from one day to seven days. Just one agency — the Justice Department — laid off employees through a reduction-in-force.

The chart below shows the effects of sequestration in 2013 on Cabinet-level agencies.

Agency

Canceled or limited awards

Reduced travel

Reduced training

Cut external hiring

Reduced overtime

Cut internal hiring

Offered VERA/VSIPs

Furloughs

RIFs

USDA

   
Commerce

     
DoD

 
Education

       
Energy

 

   
HHS

 

   
DHS

   
HUD

 

 
Interior

 
Justice

     

Labor

 
State/USAID

 

     
Transportation

 
Treasury

 

 

(Source: GAO)

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