In early January, the Office of Management and Budget Director issued a memorandum to all government agencies relative to the 2013 budget and the uncertainty surrounding passage of that budget. In part, the director said, "unless Congress acts to amend current law, the President is required to issue a sequestration order on March 1, 2013, canceling approximately $85 billion in budgetary resources across the federal government. Further uncertainty is created by the expiration of the Continuing Appropriations Resolution (CR) on March 27, 2013." In the memorandum, the director offered the following advice, "review grants and contracts to determine where costs savings may be achieved in a manner that is consistent with the applicable terms and conditions, remaining mindful of the manner in which individual contracts or grants advance the core mission of the agency."
In separate action, Director of the National Institutes of Health Francis S. Collins reported to Politico, a Capitol Hill newspaper that, "If lawmakers don't find a way to blunt the across-the-board cuts, the government's premier medical research center will lose 6.4 percent of its budget." He indicated that such a cut would be a "profound and devastating blow for medical research at a time of unprecedented scientific discovery."