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The plan calls for tax increases on the wealthy, cuts to defense and reforming Medicare. The new plan plants a stake firmly in the middle of where the GOP and Democrats stand.

President Obama spoke Tuesday about the impacts of deep spending cuts scheduled to take effect March 1. With a group of first responders in uniform standing behind him in the White House, he said if Congress doesn't stop the cuts, responders won't be able to help communities respond to disasters.

While the president again charged that Republicans aren't willing to close tax loopholes for the rich, Republicans repeated that they think Obama just "wants to spend more." Automatic cuts are set to start March 1.

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said the cuts would offset "pretty good" economic activity over the past few months. GOP Rep. Paul Ryan was pessimistic about a deal, while Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer said the two sides would come together for an agreement.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is responsible for reshaping the U.S. military after 10 years of war. At the same time, he's fighting to stave off the across-the-board cuts to the defense budget.

The clock is ticking on the sequester. That's the Washington term for the across the board spending cuts that will take effect March 1st unless Congress acts to put them off.

It looks like the across the board spending cuts that were never supposed to happen are going to — at least for a while. It's another sign of Washington's dysfunction.

Military leaders are among those warning Congress of the consequences of the automatic spending cuts set to kick in at the beginning of March. But many on Capitol Hill seem resigned to the cuts taking place.

Although a fiscal cliff was narrowly prevented at the beginning at the year, there's another budget deadline approaching. If Congress doesn't act, billions in automatic budget cuts will slice military spending, possibly hurting contractors and some personnel.

Republican Mike Pence just began his term as Indiana governor with a plan to cut the state income tax rate, joining Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, Wisconsin's Scott Walker, Nebraska's Dave Heineman and other GOP governors in pushing for similar plans. But some Republican state legislators aren't convinced.