President Barack Obama is pushing Congress to avert automatic spending cuts that are set to be implemented March 1.
“These cuts are not smart, they are not fair, they will hurt our economy, they will add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls,” the President said. “This is not an abstraction: People will lose their jobs, the unemployment rate might tick up again.”
Obama made the argument that should the spending cuts be allowed to take effect, air-traffic control, military preparedness and emergency response would suffer.
“Replacing the president’s sequester will require a plan to cut spending that will put us on the path to a budget that is balanced in 10 years,” said House Speaker John Boehner. “To keep these first responders on the job, what other spending is the president willing to cut?”
Republicans and Democrats have been locked in an ongoing battle regarding the solution to the deficit. Democrats largely support a plan that would cut spending and increase tax revenue. Republicans support deeper spending cuts without raising taxes for anyone.
“Hopefully by the time Republicans get back to D.C. they will be a little less concerned about what the tea party thinks and will be ready to do the right thing for their constituents, the economy, and our national security,” Washington Senator Parry Murray said.
