# What triggers in cuts will happen if the supercomittee does not come to consensus? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394 "2011-11-18T22:04:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/1 "2011-11-18T22:04:34Z")
I hear around the news that if the Congressional supercomittee on the debt doesn’t come to an agreement on what to cut, it automatically triggers massive cuts that both sides won’t like. I’m imagining that things like defense will be cut on the right, and social programs on the left, but I’m having a hard time picturing a confident Congress (on both sides) creating such devastating automatic cuts if a deal couldn’t be made. What exactly will happen if the supercomittee doesn’t come up with a plan? The deadline is in a few days right? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/2 "2011-11-18T22:39:43Z")
> **[United States Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercommittee)** > > The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, colloquially referred to as the Supercommittee, was a joint select committee of the United States Congress, created by the Budget Control Act of 2011 on August 2, 2011. This act was intended to prevent the sovereign default that could have resulted from the 2011 United States debt-ceiling crisis. The objective of the committee was to develop a deficit reduction plan over 10 years in addition to the $917 billion of cuts and initial debt limit i In... > [@](#): > > If the committee fails to agree on a package or the full Congress fails to pass it, a so-called “trigger mechanism” would enact $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts to serve as the second installment of deficit reduction measures. These cuts would be split between the national security and domestic arenas, but the biggest entitlement programs would be excluded from these automatic cuts. Edit: These cuts are spending levels spread over ten years, not one, if I read it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/3 "2011-11-19T00:03:18Z")
The above post is the theory. In reality, I imagine we’ll see some fast action from our legislators to keep it (the cuts) from happening, and things will go forward as they always do. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/4 "2011-11-19T00:28:49Z")
If the committee fails (as nearly everyone expects them to), the first cuts will be scheduled to [go into effect in January 2013](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supercommittee-appears-unlikely-to-reach-agreement/2011/11/17/gIQAjk43VN_print.html). This gives Congress a whole year to repeal them. Yes, Congress can simply pass a law saying that the cuts will not take effect. Republican Senator John McCain has already [announced](http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/mccain-id-work-against-the-supercommittee-to-protect-defense-spending.php) that he will not tolerate the cuts to the military budget. “If there’s a failure on the part of the super committee, we will be amongst the first on the floor to nullify that provision,” McCain said. “Congress is not bound by this — it’s something we passed; we can reverse it.” ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/5 "2011-11-19T01:15:57Z")
The supercommittee “trigger” has already been passed into law as part of the debt ceiling deal. If the supercommittee doesn’t come to an agreement within the next few days - which they probably won’t - then $600bn of spending cuts will hit the defense budget starting in 2013, and $600bn of spending cuts will hit the discretionary spending budget starting in 2013. There’s a good chance that only some - or none - of those cuts will actually take effect. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/6 "2011-11-19T01:39:29Z")
If the supercommittee doesn’t fix it, the very FIRST cuts to the budget need to be ALL congressional pay and spending. Not. One. Dime. No salaries for staff, no housing allowance, no travel pay, NOTHING. Let them find a flophouse in DC and stand in line for food at the Salvation Army. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/7 "2011-11-19T04:19:04Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > If the supercommittee doesn’t fix it, the very FIRST cuts to the budget need to be ALL congressional pay and spending. Not. One. Dime. No salaries for staff, no housing allowance, no travel pay, NOTHING. > > Let them find a flophouse in DC and stand in line for food at the Salvation Army. > ~VOW Article I Section 6 says Congressmen must be paid for their service, and the 27th amendment prohibits their salary from being changed in the middle of a term, so that’s not going to happen. In any event, it’s bad government to punish ALL the members of Congress, including the ones who are actively working on a solution, and grind government to a halt in thew process, bhecause a few are being obstinate. (In fact, it ooccurs to me that certain Congressmen would PREFER a Congress that’s broke and can’t afford to do business.) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/8 "2011-11-19T04:40:22Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > If the supercommittee doesn’t fix it, the very FIRST cuts to the budget need to be ALL congressional pay and spending. Not. One. Dime. No salaries for staff, no housing allowance, no travel pay, NOTHING. > > Let them find a flophouse in DC and stand in line for food at the Salvation Army. Why? What’s so special about this situation that it demands such a drastic penalty? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/9 "2011-11-19T09:16:42Z")
Not to mention if the super committee fails its job, the government faces a downgrade in its rating. So while the auto-cuts won’t take effect until 2013, a downgrade would be immediate. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/10 "2011-11-19T15:03:18Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Why? What’s so special about this situation that it demands such a drastic penalty? And what about that comittee the president (Bowles,Simpson et al) set up and was ignored…can we impose the same penalty on Mr. Obama? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/11 "2011-11-19T15:15:10Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > And what about that comittee the president (Bowles,Simpson et al) set up and was ignored…can we impose the same penalty on Mr. Obama? If you know the Constitution, then you’d know that the President’s salary cannot be increased or diminished during his term. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/12 "2011-11-20T09:23:25Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > If you know the Constitution, then you’d know that the President’s salary cannot be increased or diminished during his term. Good point… I guess its clear that he can get away with not doing his job (the leader thing you know). ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-triggers-in-cuts-will-happen-if-the-supercomittee-does-not-come-to-consensus/603394/13 "2011-11-20T10:29:09Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > And what about that comittee the president (Bowles,Simpson et al) set up and was ignored…can we impose the same penalty on Mr. Obama? 😕 What would the penalty be for, and why would it be imposed on Barack Obama?