President reaches out to top Republicans about sequestration

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Good evening I'm -- -- the angst continues over the prospect of cutting the growth of federal spending next week known as the sequester.

The president's education secretary is calling it the height of dysfunction in congress and the president dialed up to top Republicans today.

To try to get the DC political machine functioning again.

Here is chief White House correspondent and head.

With just eight days to go President Obama placed calls today on the budget calamity to speaker John Boehner and senator Mitch McConnell.

But -- office said it was the first time mr.

Obama called him since New Year's Eve.

As White House officials faced questions of whether the buck stops with the president the president is commander in chief and he is very concerned and and that is why he has put forward.

Compromise proposals again and again house majority leader Eric Cantor fired back the president should stop scaring the public about how -- at the grocery store will stop getting inspected.

And criminals will be let free by budget cuts and instead reach out to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid who did not get a call from the president today and push him to pass one of two house Republican plans to stop the sequester.

Can't to declaring quote house Republicans have acted and it's time for the president and senate Democrats to join us it's time to get off the campaign trail and get to work show us what spending reductions you prefer and let's find some common ground.

In the tit for tat fight -- brought out charts on the president's own plans to cut spending and tried to turn the blame game back on Republicans there will be jobs on the line.

If these -- takes place.

And the president will as he continues to do.

Call on Republicans in congress to.

-- to avoid the sequestered because that in itself.

It's a wholly unnecessary on inflicted wound on the economy -- would take place except there are others in the president's party like former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean suggesting the president should let the sequester happen.

To slice the Pentagon's budget.

Dean telling the Huffington Post quote.

I'm in favor of the sequester it is tough on things that I care about a lot but the fact of the matter is you're not going to get another chance to cut the defense budget in the way that it needs to be cut.

White House officials disagree as does outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta who warned such deep cuts could leave America with that second rate military.

You'll remember that Republicans were furious before the election that the White House did not follow the warn act.

Which requires employers to warn employees about potential layoffs.

Since those furlough notices are only going out now defense officials say the furloughs won't kick in at the Pentagon until late April.

Even if the sequester starts on March 1 at the White House Ed Henry Fox News.

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President reaches out to top Republicans about sequestration

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