Members of President Obama's cabinet detail the direct effect that sequestration will have on their agencies. Senate Appropriations Committee members will press the witnesses on budget-related scenerios and potential outcomes.
Each agency director is set to defend their annual budget and are expected to urge committee lawmakers to avoid the upcoming across-the-board discretionary funding cuts required by the Budget Control Act of 2011.
Witnesses are: Danny Werfel, federal controller, Office of Management and Budget; Education Secretary Arne Duncan; Homeland Security Janet Napolitano; HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan; and Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL) are reportedly crafting a sequester replacement bill.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, sequestration could reduce federal department funding by 5.1% in 2013.