Panelists aruged the impact on the U.S. economy of automatic military spending reductions. As part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, across-the-board federal budget spending cuts, known as sequestration, were to take effect in January 2013 unless Congress could agree to a new budget. They also discussed sequestration in relation to ongoing broader partisan political disputes over tax policy and the federal budget, and the outcome of 2012 congressional and presidential elections and the lame duck session of Congress. The program included questions from audience members.