Big automatic cuts in federal spending are fast approaching again. This is alarming to the defense sector but generating little activity in Congress to avoid them. These cuts were postponed for two months as part of the legislation that ended the standoff over the "fiscal cliff" on January 1, but the sense of crisis that accompanied the thought of across-the-board reductions then has all but vanished. This sense of crisis has now been replaced by a widespread sense of inevitability. The defense industry's concern stems from the fact that half of the $85 billion in spending reductions will come from the budget of the Department of Defense.