Order on Emergency Deficit Control Measures for Fiscal Year 1988

By the authority vested in me as President by the statutes of the United States of America, including section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-177), as amended by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-119) (hereafter referred to as "the Act"), I hereby order that the following actions be taken immediately to implement the sequestrations and reductions determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in his report dated October 20, 1987, under section 251 of the Act:

(1) Each automatic spending increase that would, but for the provisions of the Act, take effect during fiscal year 1988 is suspended as provided in section 252. The programs with such automatic spending increases subject to reduction in this manner, specified by account title, are: National Wool Act; Special milk program; and Vocational rehabilitation.

(2) The following are sequestered as provided in section 252: new budget authority; unobligated balances; new loan guarantee commitments or limitations; new direct loan obligations, commitments, or limitations; spending authority as defined in section 401(c)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended; and obligation limitations.

(3) For accounts making payments otherwise required by substantive law, the head of each Department or agency is directed to modify the calculation of each such payment to the extent necessary to reduce the estimate of total required payments for the remainder of the fiscal year to the level of resources available after sequester.

(4) For accounts making commitments for guaranteed loans and obligations for direct loans as authorized by substantive law, the head of each Department or agency is directed to reduce the level of such commitments or obligations to the extent necessary to conform to the limitations established by the Act and specified in the Director of the Office of Management and Budget's determination of October 20, 1987.

(5) Each Department or agency head may, to the extent not otherwise prohibited by law, use existing authority to deobligate balances of budgetary resources as necessary to apply the required reduction or sequestration in as uniform a manner as possible for any person or other recipient entitled to payments under any formula-driven calculations specified in the substantive law. Deobligations may include budgetary resources obligations for which checks have not been issued or funds not otherwise disbursed (funds obligated but unexpended).

In accordance with section 252(a)(4)(A), amounts suspended or sequestered under this Order shall be withheld from obligation or expenditure pending the issuance of a final order under section 252(b).

This Order shall be reported to the Congress and shall be published in the Federal Register.

RONALD REAGAN
The White House,
October 20, 1987.