If you read last month’s column, you know that the good news is that the Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2013 was passed by both houses of Congress and in early January was signed by the president.The bad news however (which by the way could fill several columns) is that there is no good news about the myriad "fiscal cliffs" that we discovered were lurking behind the Dec. 31 "fiscal cliff."So, the sequestration trigger that was originally scheduled to be pulled on January 1 is now scheduled to be pulled on March 1.The debt ceiling that was to be breached on or about Feb. 15 has now been raised so as to last until May 19.Of course, defense appropriations and military construction/VA appropriations legislation has not been enacted and programs under the two bills’ jurisdiction are being funded mostly at 2012 levels through a continuing resolution that ends on March 27.Normally the 2014 budget request would be submitted to the newly installed 113th Congress in February.However because of the uncertainty surrounding the current budget – whether it will be funded after March 27 or whether the continuing resolution will last the entire fiscal year – the budget submission for FY 14 will be delayed while the Congress is wrestling with how to fund the rest of 2013.Of course all of this uncertainty devolves negatively on our Army.Trying to plan spending when you have no idea whether you will have to absorb billions of dollars in budget cuts beginning March 1 and added to that whether you will get half of your planned budget in late March or none of it for the rest of the year, is virtually impossible.This is happening to our Department of Defense in the midst of a war!You could not make this up – no one would believe you.Gen. Gordon R, Sullivan, USA, Ret., AUSA president, has written to congressional leaders four times on the matter of sequestration and its disastrous effects on military readiness and planning.He said in part: "In a time of peace, this process would be problematic – in a time of war, it becomes exponentially more difficult. Allowing the specter of sequestration to linger, forces DoD to compromise its capability to support the national defense strategy."He has teamed with the Air Force Association and both the Navy League and the Association of the United States Navy to send letters on sequestration and the failure to resolve the fate of the continuing resolution.You can read these letters on our website. Click on "Legislative Agenda" at the top of our front page, then on the left of the next page click on "Congressional Information," then on that page click on "Letters to Congress."AUSA is engaged in the fight and is working hard to get Congress off the dime and back into the business of legislating instead of arguing.Help us do so by renewing your membership and getting your friends and neighbors to join us in remaining the "Voice for the Army – Support for the Soldier."