Lockheed Martin's CEO said his firm alone stands to lose 10,000 employees if the cuts go into effect as planned.

The House removed language from a spending bill that would prevented DOD from sponsoring NASCAR or other sporting events.

The Topline: The House started consideration of the Defense appropriations bill Wednesday afternoon, a bill that’s expected to take up the balance of time this week on the House floor.

By early evening Wednesday, the House had waded through a dozen amendments. Because the bill has an open rule, members are free to offer amendments, and late-night votes are expected on the bill Wednesday and Thursday evening.

Final passage of the bill is expected Friday.

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, who supports helping the rebels, said the Obama administration "is fiddling while Syria burns.”

Several House Democrats and Republicans started debate on a 2013 Department of Defense spending bill by protesting the ongoing war in Afghanistan, and calling on members to support amendments over the next several days aimed at reducing funding for the war.

The bill, H.R. 5872, already cuts spending on Afghanistan and Iraq by about $27 billion, which reflects reduced operations in those countries. But the United States is still set to have troops in Afghanistan in 2014, and several members said Congress should speed up that process.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he thinks the odds remain “overwhelming” that the spending cuts under sequestration will not occur at the end of the day.

Lieberman, who caucuses with Democrats but tends to side with Republicans on defense issues, said that Congress will likely find a way out of the $500 billion cuts each to defense and non-defense discretionary spending, either by reaching a last-minute agreement or delaying the cuts.

“The odds are overwhelming that there won’t be a sequester — but it’s not impossible,” Lieberman said at an event on sequestration sponsored by TechAmerica.

“I have a confidence that either we’re going to do what’s right have and have a bipartisan debt-reduction agreement in whole or in part, and avoid sequester, or we’re going to do what’s not very courageous and kick the can down the road.”

Pakistan's top intelligence official will be heading to Washington next week to resume talks over the future of U.S.-led aerial drone attacks being carried out inside the country's borders. 

It will be Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Zaheer ul-Islam's first visit to the United States since American diplomats reached a deal with Islamabad to reopen critical supply routes to U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. 

The House approved the bill in a 414-2 vote, with two Democrats voting against the legislation. 

“I think everything has to be on the table now,” Pratt & Whitney President David Hess said.