GOP: Sequester about children's future

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WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- The battle over across-the-board federal spending cuts is about of the future of America's children, a Republican congresswoman said Saturday.

Delivering the GOP's weekly media address, Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said the debate over the sequester is about "the kind of future we want for our children and grandchildren."

It's a question between handing them "a mountain of debt and all the worries that go with it," she said, or giving them "a vibrant economy and a future full of opportunity," The Hill reported.

President Obama activated $85 billion in automatic spending cuts late Friday night.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said senators should "get off their ass" and pass a budget.

Rodgers referenced the two spending bills the House passed last year, noting, "we've done the work and shown that these choices can be made in a responsible, thoughtful way."

In February, contrasting Democratic and Republican budget proposals were turned down in the Senate.

Rodgers said the debate over the sequester was being used by the president to raise taxes.

She said it was time for the Democrats to "get serious" about dealing with the deficit.