MLA has joined 2,500 organizations in sending a letter to Congress urging:
- that sequestration be replaced with a balanced approach to deficit reduction; and that
- sequestration relief be equally balanced between non-defense discretionary and defense programs.
The two years of sequestration-relief provided by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 is scheduled to end in FY 2016. Imposing additional budget cuts to NDD programs will erode scientific discovery and weaken our nation's public health preparedness and response efforts.
In light of the deep budget cuts made to NDD programs since 2010, the letter's signatories have asked Congress to find a solution that does not include further cuts to NDD programs.
The letter was organized by NDD (Non-defense Discretionary) United, an alliance of national, state, and local organizations whose interests in non-defense spending include health care, education, and medical and scientific research. NDD United was established in response to the Budget Control Act of 2011, which placed austere caps on federal spending for all discretionary programs through 2021 and set the stage for sequestration starting in 2013.