A retrospective view of the August 2011 debate and news conferences from the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and the White House as Congress considered and passed the Budget Control Act, as well as continued negotiations. As part of a deal for raising the federal debt ceiling, the Budget Control Act created sequestration on January 1, 2013, automatic spending cuts that are split 50/50 between defense and non-defense spending unless Congress would pass an alternate deficit reduction plan. Those spending cuts, coming together with the automatic end of Bush-era tax cuts, would create a so-called “fiscal cliff” for the economy.