Here is the wiki article. I knew Trump had something up his sleeve.
The term “budget sequestration” was first used to describe a section of the Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Deficit Reduction Act of 1985.
The Acts aimed to cut the United States federal budget deficit, which at the time, in dollar terms, was the largest in history. The Acts provided for automatic spending cuts (”cancellation of budgetary resources”, called “sequestration”) if the total discretionary appropriations in various categories exceed in a fiscal year the budget spending thresholds.[4] That is, if Congress enacts appropriation bills providing for discretionary outlays in each fiscal year that exceed the budget totals, unless Congress passes another budget resolution increasing the budget amount, an across-the-board spending cut in discretionary expenditure is automatically triggered on these categories, affecting all departments and programs by an equal percentage. The amount exceeding the limit is held back by the Treasury and not transferred to the agencies specified in the appropriation bills.[5]
Under the 1985 Act, allowable deficit levels were calculated for the eventual elimination of the federal deficit. If the budget exceeded the allowable deficit, across-the-board cuts were required. Directors of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) were required to report to the Comptroller General regarding their recommendations for how much must be cut. The Comptroller General then evaluated these reports, made his own conclusion, and gave a recommendation to the President, who was then required to issue an order effecting the reductions required by the Comptroller General unless Congress made the required cuts by other ways within a specified amount of time.
The Comptroller General is nominated by the President from a list of three people recommended by the presiding officers of the House and Senate. He is removable only by impeachment or a joint resolution of Congress, which requires majority votes in both houses and is subject to a Presidential veto. Congress can give a number of reasons for this removal, including “inefficiency,” “neglect of duty,” or “malfeasance.”
Not sure about that. The letter references only 7058(d)of the omnibus bill. That part is quoted in post 10. 145 million.
He saying that $145,000,000 of unspent funds from "Bilateral Economic Assistance" in 2015 will not be repurposed as stated in FY2018 Act because he considers them " EMERGENCY APPROPRIATIONS; OVERSEAS CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS / GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM" funds per section 251(b)(2)(A) in the 1985 act (as amended through 2018).