The AIDS Institute has sent a letter to congressional leaders outlining $538 million in cuts to HIV/AIDS funding that could occur on January 2 unless Congress and the president find another option. The cuts would be part of what is known as sequestration, which Congress agreed to in 2011. Automatic across-the-board cuts of more than $1 trillion to both mandatory and discretionary federal spending to bring down the deficit will start in 2013 unless an alternative plan is passed to accomplish the same goal.