President Barack Obama will speak Tuesday at Virginia's largest industrial employer, Newport News Shipbuilding, to highlight how it would be affected by the sequester – $85 billion in automatic, across-the-board spending cuts scheduled to begin taking effect Friday.
Obama said Monday that if the cuts are not averted, the company's workers will sit idle and a carrier will not deploy to the Persian Gulf.
Republicans say Obama should stay in Washington to work out a plan before Friday's deadline.
Obama will focus on a different subject – immigration – during a meeting at the White House on Tuesday with senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, top Republicans working on a bipartisan immigration reform plan. (Although immigration is the stated topic for the meeting, you have to wonder if the word sequester will get at least a passing reference while the three are talking.)
The Senate is expected to vote on proceeding with the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be the next secretary of defense. If senators vote to end debate, the chamber could move to a simple up-or-down vote on the nomination – unless Republicans insist on the maximum 30 hours of debate before a final vote.
Also worth noting on Tuesday: Secretary of State John Kerry stops in Berlin on his nine-country tour; the Senate Finance Committee votes on the nomination of Jack Lew to be Treasury secretary; and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke presents the Monetary Policy Report to Senate Banking Committee.
And then there is this: First lady Michelle Obama appears on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to discuss the third anniversary of her “Let's Move!” program.
Sources: Yahoo News’ The Ticket, Associated Press and Reuters.
