TY - JOUR T1 - Gramm-Rudman-Hollings means hard times for conservation JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 166 LP - 168 VL - 41 IS - 3 AU - William J. Chandler AU - Katherine Barton Y1 - 1986/05/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/41/3/166.abstract N2 - LAST December, as the national debt was about to exceed $2 trillion, Congress finally decided it must do something to reduce the federal budget deficit. But rather than make the tough decision to cut spending or raise taxes, Congress opted instead for a process that would force deficit reductions to be made in the future. Thus, the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings balanced budget act was born. It's a law that could have devastating impacts on conservation spending. Gramm-Rudman's long-term goal is a balanced federal budget by 1991. To achieve this goal, the law sets annual limits on the federal deficit, declining from $171.9 billion in fiscal year 1986 to zero in 1991. The act also makes changes in the budget process. These changes are designed to speed up annual congressional action on the budget and to force spending legislation to stay within the specified deficit amounts. But Congress knew that more deadlines and stricter spending limits alone were unlikely to get the president and Congress to overcome their disagreements about the federal budget. So it added the notorious “sequestration” process. This process automatically makes specified budget cuts, as necessary, to … ER -