Budget/Appropriations

The defense industry is joining forces with health, education and other domestic sectors in a last-minute push to stop the sequester. 

Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, blasted the President Obama Friday after a fact sheet released by the White House on the impact of the sequester did not include information about potential defense cuts.

"Today the White House finally broke their silence on the consequences President Obama's sequester would have on domestic spending. I wouldn't downplay those important impacts, but I was stunned at the President's silence on national security risks and I am frustrated that he continues to look to our men and women in uniform to pay the cost of America's debt crisis," McKeon said in a statement. "After all, it is their lives that are at greater risks today, because of the cuts already imposed."

Speaking to reporters shortly after the release of the fact sheet, Office of Management and Budget federal controller Danny Werfel said that because "there has been in the public domain a lot of discussion to date about the impact that the sequester would have on the defense realm," the White House wanted to highlight that "the impacts on our domestic priorities as a nation would be just as severe."

The legislation would replace the first year of sequestration with a 10-percent reduction in the federal workforce.

Asked if he would be the senator shepherding the bill, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) responded: “Good question.”

Republican defense hawks would avoid the first year of automatic spending cuts by reducing the size of the federal workforce.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs and all four service chiefs will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee next week on the dangers of sequester to the military as the across-the-board cuts are just weeks away from taking effect.

Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale will also appear before the committee at the hearing.

It’s a rare appearance in Congress for nearly the full roster of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to testify together: Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, Army Gen. Raymond Odierno, Navy Adm. Jonathan Greenert, Marine Gen. James Amos, Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh and National Guard Gen. Frank Grass.

GOP leaders would appear to face a tougher lift in passing the sequester replacement measure this time around.

The Topline: President Obama called for Congress to pass a “balanced mix of spending cuts and more tax reform” in order to stave off some of the $85 billion in sequestration cuts set to take effect March 1.

The movement on the sequester was welcome news for industry groups and lawmakers who have fought against the across-the-board cuts, but Obama’s statement appeared to do little to move the two sides closer together.

Republicans bristled at the notion of accepting more revenue after the “fiscal cliff” deal reached last month included $600 billion in new revenues.

“It’s either going to be the sequester as written, or a preferable reallocation of the spending cuts. But it’s going to be spending cuts,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla) told reporters Tuesday.

Obama warned that sequestration would “cost us jobs and hurt our economy,” and urged lawmakers not to let “political dysfunction” get in the way.

He did not lay out any new proposals Tuesday, but said that the offers made to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) were “still on the table.”

Boehner indicated his resistance to more tax increases before Obama’s remarks.

“We believe there is a better way to reduce the deficit, but Americans do not support sacrificing real spending cuts for more tax hikes,” he said in a statement.

The top Republicans on the House and Senate Armed Services committees, Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), said in a statement that Obama’s move was “better late than never.”

But they said they were opposed to the “same mix of tax increases and defense cuts.”

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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Monday that Chuck Hagel's commitment to bring Department of Defense spending under control will weigh heavily on whether he can support Hagel's nomination to lead the Pentagon.

McCain made this pronouncement during a 30 minute speech on the Senate floor, in which he said the "culture of inefficiency" at DOD needs to be changed from the top down.

A sharp decline in defense spending led the U.S. economy to contract at the end of 2012 by 0.1 percent.