US President Barack Obama delivers remarks joined by emergency responders to urge action to avoid the automatic budget cuts scheduled to hit next Friday if Congress fails to find a path forward on balanced deficit reduction during an event at the White House in Washington, DC, February 19, 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
On Sunday, the White House continued its effort to prevent the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts known as "sequestration" from starting this Friday, releasing a dramatic state-by-state list of how they claim each state will be impacted if Congress fails to act.
It's worth remembering that the "cut" is only to the projected increase in spending, not to what we are currently spending.
White House political director Dan Pfeiffer said on a call Sunday, according to the Hill, that the sequester is only going to happen if Republicans refuse to compromise.
He added: “Republicans are making a policy choice that these cuts are better for the economy than eliminating tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy."
Republicans have countered by noting that the sequester was an idea originally pushed by the White House, and they have several times attempted to avert the cuts.
House Speaker John Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement: "Republicans in the House have voted - twice - to replace President Obama's sequester with smarter spending cuts. The White House needs to spend less time explaining to the press how bad the sequester will be and more time actually working to stop it."
Either way, here's what the White House claims will happen in each state if the sequester goes through (via the Wall Street Journal):
John McCain said on CNN's State of the Union today that the across-the-board sequestration cuts are a "cowardly" way to tackle the budget, and the "worst" way to go about it:
