President Obama on Tuesday called on Congress to find budget cuts and tax changes to delay the sequester for a few more months until Congress finds “a smarter solution.” (The Washington Post) 
 
 President Obama on Tuesday called on Congress to find budget cuts and tax changes to delay the sequester for a few more months until Congress finds “a smarter solution.” (The Washington Post) 
 
 President Obama on Tuesday called on Congress to pass a small package of spending cuts and tax changes to delay the start next month of deep reductions in domestic and defense spending that could deliver a fresh blow to a fragile economic recovery. 
 
 With time running out, Obama said, Congress should adopt measures to postpone the automatic spending reductions, known as the sequester, for a few months. Without any action, the cuts, worth $1.2 trillion over a decade, are scheduled to take effect March 1 and are causing deep anxiety among government workers and contractors. 
 
 Obama did not outline a specific proposal, and he said he still favored a broad deal of spending cuts and tax changes — which would eliminate deductions and loopholes that benefit the wealthy and certain industries — to replace the sequester. 
 
 “If Congress can’t act immediately on a bigger package, if they can’t get a bigger package done by the time the sequester is scheduled to go into effect,” Obama said in the White House briefing room, “then I believe that they should at least pass a smaller package of spending cuts and tax reforms that would delay the economically damaging effects of the sequester for a few more months.” 
 
 To delay the sequester for several months, any plan passed by Congress would have to reduce borrowing by tens of billions of dollars through a combination of alternative spending cuts or tax increases. The White House said it would work with Congress on crafting the package. 
 
 1 of 10 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × Five truths and five myths about the debt ceiling View Photos Post staff writer Neil Irwin lays out some facts about the debt limit, while former government official Bruce Bartlett clears up some falsehoods. Caption Post staff writer Neil Irwin lays out some facts about the debt limit, while former government official Bruce Bartlett clears up some falsehoods. TRUTH: That gap between revenue and spending? It's the deficit. Irwin writes, "The U.S. government took in about $7,000 in revenue for every man, woman and child in the United States last year. It spent more than $11,000 per person. The gap between those numbers, about $4,000 per person, is the deficit, and it was covered by borrowing money. Some politicians speak as if high levels of government spending and a large budget deficit are the same thing. This isn’t so. You could have a government that spends $11,000 per person — but with taxes to match it — and no deficit. Or you could have a bare-bones government of a libertarian’s fantasy that spends only $7,000 per person but that runs a large deficit because it raises only $3,000 per person in taxes." Greg Kreller/AP Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. 
 
 While the sequester cuts domestic and defense spending almost indiscriminately, any new package backed by the White House could find alternative savings by targeting specific programs for cuts or closing tax breaks, such as those that benefit oil and gas companies or users of corporate jets. 
 
 Republicans have been warming to the idea of allowing the sequester to go forward because it guarantees sharp cuts in spending. The GOP might agree to other reductions to replace the sequester — especially since many Republicans are concerned about slashing the defense budget — but any proposal to raise taxes would likely be a flashpoint. The president has made clear he expects wealthier Americans and industries with special tax advantages to pay more toward deficit reduction. 
 
 Responding to news earlier in the day that Obama would make the announcement, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Republicans would oppose any tax increases and noted that Obama was the one who first proposed the sequester. 
 
 “There is a better way to reduce the deficit, but Americans do not support sacrificing real spending cuts for more tax hikes,” Boehner said in a statement. “The president’s sequester should be replaced with spending cuts and reforms that will start us on the path to balancing the budget in 10 years.” 
 
 The sequester is not the only looming deadline. A continuing resolution funding the government expires in late March, and the government will shut down without further action by Congress. And there is another deadline to raise the federal debt limit in the summer. 
 
 A report last week showed that the economy contracted in the fourth quarter of 2012, in part because of sharp reductions in defense spending and concerns about the sequester. 
 
 “Our economy right now is headed in the right direction. And it will stay that way, as long as there aren’t any more self-inflicted wounds coming out of Washington,” Obama said Tuesday. 
 
 You’ve heard the word “sequester” mentioned by politicians a lot lately. The Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe explains what the term means, and why it matters. (The Washington Post) 
 
 Just before the president’s announcement, the Congressional Budget Office released its economic projections for the year ahead. The nonpartisan CBO said that by the end of 2013, the federal budget deficit will come in under $1 trillion — the first time in five years. The gap between taxes and spending is estimated to narrow to $845 billion in the fiscal year that ends in September, the release said. 
 
 Attributed in large part to tax hikes adopted on Jan. 1 and the sequester set to hit next month, the CBO’s new projections show the deficit continuing its drop in 2014 and 2015, and falling to less than 3 percent of the overall economy for much of this decade. 
 
 Obama’s push for a short-term solution picked up Democratic support in the Senate on Tuesday. 
 
 “I agree with President Obama that if we can’t agree now on a long-term solution, the best thing for families and the economy would be to pass a balanced short-term sequestration replacement while the House and Senate work on our budget resolutions," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee. 
 
 The sequester was a mechanism that Congress and the White House designed in 2011 to force policymakers to generate significant deficit reduction over the next 10 years. 
 
 While they have made progress on that front — gaining more than $2.5 trillion in deficit savings — they have not come to a broad agreement as many hoped. 
 
 The sequester would slice $1.2 trillion in domestic and defense spending over 10 years, indiscriminately cutting most programs. (Some programs, such as Medicaid and food stamps, are exempt.) 
 
 The “fiscal cliff” deal at the start of the year postponed the sequester for two months. 
 
 Obama favors a broader plan to permanently end the sequester and replace it with a series of reductions in health care and other mandatory spending as well as the elimination of tax breaks that benefit the wealthy and industries. He said on Tuesday his offer to Boehner from December, reflecting these principles, is still on the table. 
 
 Republicans favor deep cuts to spending without raising taxes any more. ||||| Speaker John Boehner is signaling he will not accept revenue increases that President Barack Obama is expected to propose to delay the automatic spending cuts that take hold at the beginning of March. 
 
 “President Obama first proposed the sequester and insisted it become law,” Boehner said in a statement. “Republicans have twice voted to replace these arbitrary cuts with common-sense cuts and reforms that protect our national defense. 
 
 Text Size - 
 
 + 
 
 reset 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: What is sequestration?) 
 
 “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 added. “The president’s sequester should be replaced with spending cuts and reforms that will start us on the path to balancing the budget in 10 years.” 
 
 Boehner — and House Republicans, broadly — have been opposed to delaying the sequester. Instead, Boehner is trying to use the scheduled cuts as a way to force the White House to accept reforms to federal spending and taxing. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Obama to push for sequester delay) ||||| Washington (CNN) -- Furloughed workers, reduced combat readiness, shrunken naval operations and cuts to Air Force flying hours and weapons maintenance. 
 
 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta listed those consequences as he provided a stark warning on Wednesday about the effects of impending budget cuts on the military unless Congress acts to avert them. 
 
 The result, he said, would be "the most serious readiness crisis" faced by the armed services in over a decade. 
 
 Panetta's address at Georgetown University, which he called "hopefully one of my last speeches as secretary of defense," included the first details of how the Pentagon would deal with the automatic spending cuts -- or sequestration in congressional jargon -- set to trigger March 1 across federal agencies. 
 
 For the Pentagon, sequestration would mean almost $500 billion in cuts over 10 years. For 2013 alone, some $46 billion in reduced spending would result in "a serious disruption in defense programs and a sharp decline in our military readiness," Panetta said. 
 
 Opinion: How to avoid job-killing budget cuts 
 
 "There are no good options" to deal with the situation, he continued, saying 46,000 department jobs would be at risk and more damaging measures in coming months could include: 
 
 -- Furloughing as many as 800,000 civilian workers for up to 22 days; 
 
 -- Cutting back on Army training and maintenance, which would reduce readiness of combat brigades outside Afghanistan; 
 
 -- Shrinking naval operations; and, 
 
 -- Reducing Air Force flying hours and weapons systems maintenance. 
 
 "This is not a game. This is reality," Panetta said, his voice rising. "These steps would seriously damage a fragile American economy and they would degrade our ability to respond to crisis precisely at a time of rising instability across the globe." 
 
 His comments sought to increase pressure on Republicans and Democrats to reach agreement on deficit-reduction steps, thereby avoiding the across-the-board spending cuts of sequestration that were part of a 2011 deal that raised the federal debt ceiling. 
 
 On Tuesday, President Barack Obama called for a short-term deal to put off the cuts so Congress could continue work on a permanent fix that provides desired reductions in the federal deficit. 
 
 Obama made clear that he still wants a broader deficit-reduction agreement with Republicans that includes spending cuts, some entitlement reforms and increased revenue from eliminating some tax breaks. 
 
 However, Obama said, with time running out before the sequestration cuts slash government spending and result in job losses and economic slowdown, Congress should pass a temporary fix that would allow time for further negotiations on a broader plan. 
 
 By the numbers: Recent defense spending 
 
 "Compromise is a way to achieve it," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Wednesday, noting that Obama continued to offer proposals to cut spending and increase revenue that shifted to the middle from his original stances. 
 
 However, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, accused Obama and Democrats of avoiding needed spending cuts and trying to put off tough decisions instead of facing their responsibilities as elected leaders. 
 
 Deficit reduction should focus on cutting government spending and must include savings from popular entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Boehner insisted on Wednesday. 
 
 "At some point, Washington has to deal with its spending problem," he told reporters. "I've watched them kick this can down the road for 22 years. I've had enough of it. It's time to act." 
 
 Boehner also echoed Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in opposing Obama's call for including more tax revenue in the mix. 
 
 Opinion: Republicans, be smart about defense cuts 
 
 Also Wednesday, GOP legislators proposed $85 billion in reduced spending through attrition -- or not filling all vacated government jobs -- and freezing congressional pay as an alternative to the sequestration this year. 
 
 They said the plan achieves the same amount of deficit reduction without more tax revenue sought by Obama and Democrats. 
 
 The debate continues the ideological showdown between Republicans and Democrats over the size and role of government. 
 
 Republicans driven by their conservative base want to reduce government and taxes to fund it, arguing that is the best way to grow the economy. 
 
 Democrats promote a strong government safety net through entitlements and support programs that they say bolsters middle-class opportunity necessary for economic growth. 
 
 Congress and the White House agreed to the sequestration cuts as part of the 2011 debt ceiling deal that ended a showdown over whether to increase the federal government's borrowing limit to meet its obligations. 
 
 The automatic spending cuts never were intended to become law, but instead were designed to be so unwieldy and overbearing that Congress would reach a broader deficit reduction deal to avoid them. 
 
 Military pay in play in game of political poker 
 
 Deep partisan divisions prevented such an agreement from happening in 2012, an election year. Initially the cuts were to go into effect on January 2, but the government delayed the impact of sequestration for the first two months of 2013. 
 
 In his speech, Panetta referred to what he described as "partisan dysfunction in Congress" that he said threatens the quality of life and national security of the nation. 
 
 Instead of making tough decisions to resolve problems, political leaders from both parties let issues become crises that require immediate but insufficient responses, he said. 
 
 "It's the easy way out," Panetta said, adding that there is a price to be paid for such an approach. 
 
 "You lose the trust of the American people," he said. "You create an aura of constant uncertainty that pervades every issue and gradually undermines the very credibility of the nation." 
 
 CNN Explains: Sequestration 
 
 In another effort to stoke public alarm over the pending cuts, Carney told reporters that top defense contractors met at the White House with senior administration officials to discuss the impacts on their industry. 
 
 According to Carney, those impacts would be overwhelmingly negative. 
 
 "It's not just a parlor game here in Washington," he said of the issue. "These are real-world decisions that significantly affect the economy and the American people." 
 
 Obama said Tuesday that he still supports a broader deficit deal and made clear that revenue from tax reform measures previously agreed to by Republicans -- such as eliminating some loopholes to increase revenue for the government -- should be part of it. 
 
 Boehner, however, reiterated the GOP call for replacing the sequester plan with spending cuts and reforms -- a reference to changes in entitlement programs. 
 
 A last-second agreement in the previous Congress that passed in the first days of 2013 raised tax rates on top income earners as part of a limited deficit-reduction package. 
 
 That measure followed weeks of tough negotiations involving Obama and Congress in which other steps to increase government revenue, such as eliminating some tax breaks for corporations, were considered but not included in the final deal. 
 
 How our tribes cause gridlock in Congress 
 
 Obama and Democrats now want such revenue-raising steps to be part of a package that would replace the mandated deficit reduction of the sequester cuts. 
 
 McConnell expressed his opposition to such a move Tuesday, saying, "The American people will not support more tax hikes in place of the meaningful spending reductions both parties already agreed to and the president signed into law." 
 
 CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
– President Obama wants to put off the dreaded sequester just a little while longer. In an address this afternoon, Obama called for a handful of small budget cuts to justify pushing the automatic spending cuts back again, this time until after Congress has crafted a new federal budget, the Washington Post reports. The extra time could be used, Obama said, to come up with a "balanced" long-term deficit fix. "There is no reason that the jobs of thousands of Americans … not to mention the growth of the entire economy should be put in jeopardy just because a few folks in Washington couldn't agree to eliminate a few special interest tax loopholes," he said. But before Obama had even spoken, John Boehner issued a statement dismissing the idea of any deal including more tax revenue, accurately predicting that Obama would call for it, Politico reports. "President Obama first proposed the sequester and insisted it become law," Boehner said. "We believe there is a better way to reduce the deficit, but Americans do not support sacrificing real spending cuts for more tax hikes."