They say some of them are concerned that he's going to over-compromise in a deficit-reduction deal.
Known as sequestration, the cuts were intended to motivate Congress to reach a deficit-reduction deal to avoid them.
That deal also set the clock ticking toward the now-notorious sequester, if a broader deficit-reduction deal wasn't put in place.
However, he noted that it was unlikely Congress would reach a deficit-reduction deal by March 1 to render the sequestration cuts moot.
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That does not necessarily mean that the next Congress will fail to come up with a deficit-reduction deal, argues James Thurber of American University.
He has been committed to seeking a broad deficit-reduction deal, one that protects the middle class, one that achieves balance and is good for our economy.
The deficit-reduction deal's spending caps contain an exemption for the Social Security Administration that could allow the agency to quickly ramp up its reviews of recipients' continuing eligibility for disability benefits.
President Barack Obama has tried to reach out to Republicans who might be willing to work with him on a deficit-reduction deal that includes both tax increases and spending cuts.
Mr. Hollande said he would abide by the deficit-reduction deal Mr. Sarkozy negotiated with the EU. Mr. Hollande's "millionaires tax" aimed to make the cuts moderately more left-leaning, but in the end, austerity is austerity.
Biden said he hoped there is still a path forward to allow the White House and congressional leaders to reach agreement on a major deficit reduction deal -- one that has so far eluded them despite optimism in the past.
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Instead, he wants to reach an agreement with Democrats on a framework or bridge that would postpone the cuts and tax-rate changes for one year until a broader deal on deficit reduction -- including entitlement and tax reform -- can be worked out.
Tuesday, Obama urged Congress to pass a short-term deal that puts off the cuts, allowing some breathing room for a long-term deficit reduction plan.
And then beginning to deal with the long-term deficit reduction by dealing with our entitlements -- most importantly, the entitlement that was skyrocketing the most was health care.
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What we need to have is a conversation about what will pass -- negotiations that build upon the tremendous success that negotiators involved in the Vice President-led talks had -- and then to move forward with a significant deficit reduction deal that is balanced and fair, and that the American people are demanding.
Geithner also may have to deal with another round of debt-ceiling debates because the deal as is requires 12 lawmakers to propose deficit reduction measures this fall.
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There is the possibility for something short of the biggest deal possible but still something significant that would provide some deficit reduction -- some significant deficit reduction, but would also still require balance, would still require give on the part of Republicans.
And what -- again, my confidence -- we remain optimistic -- we remain confident that a deal can be reached, that a significant deficit reduction can be reached and that there is time to do that.
He acknowledged what has become obvious: The broader deficit reduction deal he seeks will probably come in stages, rather than in the so-called grand bargain he and Boehner have been trying to negotiate.
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The deal also included a simple but powerful mechanism to ensure that the committee met its deficit-reduction target: If it didn't, the debt limit would not be increased again in a few months.
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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.
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