Critical Releases in Homeland Security: March 16, 2016

From the Document: "On August 2, 2011, the President signed into law the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25), which included a number of budget-controlling mechanisms. As part of the legislation, caps were placed on discretionary spending for the next ten years, beginning with FY2012. If these caps are exceeded, the BCA provides for an automatic rescission--known as sequestration--to take place across most discretionary budget accounts to reduce the effective level of spending to the level of the cap. Additionally, special accommodations were made in the BCA to address the unpredictable nature of disaster assistance while attempting to impose discipline on the amount spent by the federal government on disasters. The BCA created an allowable adjustment specifically to cover disaster relief (defined as the costs of major disasters under the Stafford Act), separate from emergency appropriations."

From Background: "The House Homeland Security Committee has been tracking terrorist activity linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) since the group's formation. This report was produced by the Committee's Majority Staff and is intended to capture the scope of ISIS external operations against Western countries, including the United States, as well as terrorist incidents inspired by the group. It provides high-level analysis of ISIS-linked plots and attacks that have targeted such countries, along with a summary of each incident. At the time of publication, ISIS has been tied to at least 75 terrorist plots or attacks against the West since early 2014. The Committee plans to update this report periodically."