The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) is a federal statute enacted by the 112th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on August 2, 2011, to address the 2011 U.S. debt-ceiling crisis. This bipartisan law established binding spending caps on discretionary defense and non-defense categories from fiscal years 2012 to 2021, aiming to reduce the federal budget deficit without increasing taxes. The Act raised the statutory debt limit by $2.1 trillion in two tranches: an initial $900 billion increase in exchange for $917 billion in spending cuts over ten years, followed by a second $1.2 trillion increase contingent on the development of a comprehensive deficit reduction plan. It created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to identify additional savings, but when the committee failed to reach agreement, it triggered automatic across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration. The legislation passed with bipartisan support (House 269-161, Senate 74-26) and its implementation had significant impacts on federal budgeting, with sequestration activated in 2013 imposing approximately 5% cuts to most discretionary programs. Over time, parts of the BCA were modified through subsequent legislation like the Bipartisan Budget Acts of 2013 and 2015. The Act remains a key reference in fiscal policy discussions, highlighting tensions between debt management, spending priorities, and partisan gridlock in U.S. governance.