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Obama to detail possible budget cuts

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President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden pose with the full Cabinet for an official group photo in the Grand Foyer of the White House, July 26, 2012. Seated, from left, are: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan Rice, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Standing in the second row, from left, are: Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, Chief of Staff Jack Lew, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. Standing in the third row, from left, are: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Jeffrey D. Zients, Council of Economic Advisers Chair Alan Krueger, and Small Business Administrator Karen G. Mills. UPI/Chuck Kennedy/White House
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden pose with the full Cabinet for an official group photo in the Grand Foyer of the White House, July 26, 2012. Seated, from left, are: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan Rice, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Standing in the second row, from left, are: Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, Chief of Staff Jack Lew, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. Standing in the third row, from left, are: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Jeffrey D. Zients, Council of Economic Advisers Chair Alan Krueger, and Small Business Administrator Karen G. Mills. UPI/Chuck Kennedy/White House 
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Published: Aug. 8, 2012 at 9:56 AM

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- President Obama must detail the first of $1.2 trillion in spending cuts to be made if Congress can't find ways to slash the deficit under a law signed Tuesday.

The report, due early next month, could crystallize for voters the harsh realities of the cuts that would have to be made automatically Jan. 2 under sequestration, Politico reported.

Consensus on where to make the initial cuts could be difficult. Democrats want to save domestic programs, while Republicans want to preserve military spending.

The president is required to make the across-the-board spending cuts, known as "sequestration," after a bipartisan committee failed last year to agree on a plan to cut the budget and increase taxes.

The cuts should not be necessary, Jeffrey Zients, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told the House Armed Services Committee last week.

"The right course is not to spend time moving around rocks at the bottom of a cliff to make for a less painful landing," he said. "The right course is to avoid driving off the cliff altogether."

The administration is prepared to be realistic. Zients has sent out a memo to federal agencies telling them to begin thinking about where to cut.

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