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Judiciary Funding - Annual Report 2013

In the face of fiscal challenges, the federal courts struggled to maintain service to the public.

Fiscal year 2013 presented unparalleled challenges for the Judiciary. Budget sequestration, with its approximately $350 million cut to the federal Judiciary, went into effect in March 2013. Then there was the uncertain start to fiscal year 2014, which began without a budget, and soon saw the shutdown of much of government. Through it all, the federal courts struggled to maintain service to the public, helped by long-standing efforts to contain costs, and strong leadership from the Judicial Conference Executive Committee.

FY 2013 Budget

Six months after the start of FY 2013, Congress passed, and the President signed, the “Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013,” which provided full-year fiscal year 2013 funding for the federal government, including the Judiciary. Although the legislation funded Judiciary accounts at approximately a fiscal year 2012 hard freeze, the Act left in place the government-wide sequestration cuts required under the Budget Control Act of 2011. These cuts reduced Judiciary funding overall by nearly $350 million below the fiscal year 2012 funding level.