According to recent reports, Senate appropriators of both parties are working on proposals to replace at least some of the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect under sequestration on March 1. The main obstacle to a deal to replace all or some of the sequester is considered to be the differing opinions of the two parties regarding revenue. Whereas congressional Democrats want to replace sequestration with a combination of alternative spending cuts and additional revenues, congressional Republicans say they will not consider any new revenue as part of a deal to replace the sequester. As a result of this impasse, many media outlets have been reporting that the sequester seems likely to take place, at least temporarily, though there is still room for uncertainty as to whether Congress will take action to replace or modify sequestration. This uncertainty regarding the sequester is also reportedly delaying the work of House and Senate appropriators to write a bill extending federal funding for the remainder of fiscal 2013, as the current continuing resolution is set to expire on March 27.  In a recent blog post, NASBO discusses the still uncertain outlook for the looming sequester, as well as the implications of sequestration for states.

Link: NASBO Blog Post