President Obama challenges Congress in weekly address to end sequester

If the sequester is allowed to go forward, thousands of Americans who work in fields like national security, education or clean energy are likely to be laid off. Firefighters and food inspectors could also find themselves out of work ' leaving our communities vulnerable. Programs like Head Start would be cut, and lifesaving research into diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's could be scaled back. Small businesses could be prevented from getting the resources and support they need to keep their doors open.  People with disabilities who are waiting for their benefits could be forced to wait even longer. All our economic progress could be put at risk.

In this morning's weekly address, President Obama outlined the background of budget negotiations with conservatives, laid out what's at stake and warned the American people of the dangers of letting the sequester take hold March 1. Some of the most drastic cuts, he said, could affect the military.

And then there's the impact on our military readiness. Already, the threat of deep cuts has forced the Navy to delay an aircraft carrier that was supposed to deploy to the Persian Gulf. As our military leaders have made clear, changes like this affect our ability to respond to threats in an unstable part of the world. And we will be forced to make even more tough decisions in the weeks ahead if Congress fails to act.

But, the president said, there's good news! A couple of months ago, we teetered on the same edge of danger'and Democrats and Republicans came together with a short-term solution. Which they can do again, he said: "This time, Congress should pass a similar set of balanced cuts and close more tax loopholes until they can find a way to replace the sequester with a smarter, longer-term solution."

But there's bad news, too:

...the current Republican plan puts the burden of avoiding those cuts mainly on seniors and middle-class families. They would rather ask more from the vast majority of Americans and put our recovery at risk than close even a single tax loophole that benefits the wealthy.

He closed with a direct "message to Congress":

Let's keep working together to solve this problem. And let's give our workers and our businesses the support they need to grow and thrive.

To read the transcript in full, check below the fold or visit the White House website.