House to consider Rep. West's sequester replacement bill

The House next week will consider a bill that would replace the sequester for defense spending on the condition that Congress passes legislation that finds other ways to achieve the required deficit reduction in the Budget Control Act.

West's bill, the National Security and Job Protection Act, finds that the pending sequester would cut defense spending too far and that alternative plans need to be made to avoid these cuts.

The bill says the alternative would have to cut overall spending at least as much as the Budget Control Act requires. Once that happens, "any sequestration order ... to carry out reductions to direct spending for the defense function ... shall have no force or effect."

It also requires President Obama to submit a legislative proposal to Congress that adjusts the sequester accordingly by Oct. 15.

Under current law, the administration must cut $109 billion from 2013 spending by early January — that's the first installment of more than $1 trillion in cuts required by the Budget Control Act, which West voted for when it passed the House in August 2011.

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