Effects to be determined

摘要

Sequester? What sequester? That's what at least some U.S. municipal wastewater utilities may be wondering 3 months after across-the-board automatic spending cuts took effect in federal agencies on March 1. At that time, a flurry of news reports announced a sampling of sequestration's likely impacts. Illegal aliens would be released, underutilized airport control towers would be closed - even the annual White House Easter egg roll was at risk, the reports predicted, as federal agencies scrambled to absorb $85 billion in mandatory cuts in their fiscal year 2013 budgets. And that is just the beginning. Unless the U.S. Congress enacts legislation to replace it, the sequester will remain in effect for the next 10 years, mandating federal spending cuts of $1.2 trillion.