Federal Agencies Told to Cut 2013 Budgets by OMB

A memo released on Aug. 17 by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jacob Lew could lead to more cuts to federal construction accounts in the coming years.  The memo directed all federal agencies to plan a 2013 budget that is at least 5 percent below their current spending level, and to identify additional savings to bring their 2013 budget requests to at least 10 percent below FY 2011 appropriation levels. OMB is asking the agencies to identify programs that can be eliminated or integrated into another program and also identify programs that are cost-effective and provide economic growth opportunities to help provide the president with the necessary information to reduce the federal deficit while still creating economic growth. When identifying the 10 percent savings, agencies cannot propose across-the-board reductions or reductions to mandatory spending.  Agencies are also not allowed to reclassify current discretionary spending into mandatory spending or include new user fees to offset existing spending.  These reduction proposals, however, can be included as alternatives to their main cuts to spending in their budget requests for 2013. AGC will continue to meet with the agencies and Congress to promote construction spending and minimize the impact these cuts may have on the construction industry. For more information, please contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.