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Pentagon Wins Two-Month ‘Sequestration’ Reprieve
While the U.S. Congress approved legislation to postpone it, “the cloud of sequestration remains,” said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. (Photo: U.S. Department of Defense)
While the U.S. Congress approved legislation to postpone it, “the cloud of sequestration remains,” said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. (Photo: U.S. Department of Defense)

The U.S. Congress has passed legislation that delays the threatened automatic cuts in federal government spending by two months until March 1, sparing for now a $55 billion reduction in the Department of Defense (DOD) budget for the current fiscal year. That budget currently stands at $552 billion, after the Congress authorized the Fiscal Year 2013 spending bill late last month. The President signed the defense authorization bill on January 3.