U.S. President Barack Obama is meeting with top Republican and Democratic lawmakers this morning to discuss efforts to avoid across-the-board budget cuts set to take effect within hours. The White House meeting is largely viewed as symbolic, after dueling bills to avoid the cuts were defeated in the Senate Thursday.
Without an agreement before the Friday deadline, the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts appear inevitable.
Obama has said the effects of the cuts on federal agencies -- most notably defense, infrastructure spending, public schools and preschool care -- will not be felt immediately, but instead will have what he calls a "tumble downward" effect. That means, the longer the cuts remain in place, the worse the damage.
Defense employees are expected to be forced to take unpaid time off from work, while funding for big infrastructure projects will eventually come to a halt. States also would feel the effects, with fewer federal dollars coming in.
Obama is blaming Republicans for the impasse, saying they voted to put the entire burden of deficit reduction on the middle class.
The president and many Democrats want to eliminate certain tax breaks for the wealthy to raise revenue along with spending cuts as a way to reduce the budget deficit. But many Republicans oppose tax increases of any kind and want to focus solely on cutting spending. They accuse Democrats of exaggerating the impact of the spending cuts, known as the sequester.
The automatic budget cuts will hit nearly every federal government agency, but, the effects of the cuts may not be felt for several more weeks.
The failure of Congress and the White House to avoid the sequester has left many in Washington frustrated about the lack of progress toward a federal budget deal.
Meanwhile, the nation faces another obstacle: if lawmakers do not agree on a new budget by March 27, a continuing resolution funding the government for fiscal 2013 will expire and the government could shut down altogether.
Some of information for this story was provided by Reuters and AP.
Without an agreement before the Friday deadline, the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts appear inevitable.
Obama has said the effects of the cuts on federal agencies -- most notably defense, infrastructure spending, public schools and preschool care -- will not be felt immediately, but instead will have what he calls a "tumble downward" effect. That means, the longer the cuts remain in place, the worse the damage.
Defense employees are expected to be forced to take unpaid time off from work, while funding for big infrastructure projects will eventually come to a halt. States also would feel the effects, with fewer federal dollars coming in.
Obama is blaming Republicans for the impasse, saying they voted to put the entire burden of deficit reduction on the middle class.
The president and many Democrats want to eliminate certain tax breaks for the wealthy to raise revenue along with spending cuts as a way to reduce the budget deficit. But many Republicans oppose tax increases of any kind and want to focus solely on cutting spending. They accuse Democrats of exaggerating the impact of the spending cuts, known as the sequester.
The automatic budget cuts will hit nearly every federal government agency, but, the effects of the cuts may not be felt for several more weeks.
The failure of Congress and the White House to avoid the sequester has left many in Washington frustrated about the lack of progress toward a federal budget deal.
Meanwhile, the nation faces another obstacle: if lawmakers do not agree on a new budget by March 27, a continuing resolution funding the government for fiscal 2013 will expire and the government could shut down altogether.
Some of information for this story was provided by Reuters and AP.