sequestration

Republicans say they welcome President Barack Obama's courtship and suggest the fresh engagement between the White House and Congress may finally yield solutions to the stubborn budget battle that could cost Americans jobs.

First there was a two-year pay freeze. Now furloughs loom, as federal agencies make personnel costs a prime target for across-the-board budget cuts that went into effect last week. The result: anxiety and low morale in a workforce often envied for its job security.

Republicans controlling the House are moving to give the Pentagon more money for military readiness. They also want to largely exempt agencies like the FBI and the Border Patrol as well as Western firefighting efforts from the effects of across-the-board spending cuts that are just starting to take effect.

U.S. airports, including Los Angeles International and O'Hare International in Chicago, are already experiencing delays in customs waiting lines as a result of automatic federal spending cuts, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says U.S. airports, including Los Angeles International and O'Hare International in Chicago, are already experiencing delays as a result of automatic federal spending cuts.

The $85 billion in federal spending cuts that began kicking in Friday are here to stay if you believe the latest public statements from Washington.

While public schools everywhere will be affected by the government's automatic budget cuts, few will feel the funding pinch faster than those on and around military bases.

Severe spending cuts are now the law of the land and the battle has spilled into the weekly media messages from President Barack Obama and the Republicans, with both sides saying it's the other's fault.

President Obama blames Republicans' refusal to close 'wasteful' loopholes as the cause of  automatic budget cuts that will go into effect at midnight.

Here's a bright spot amid the doom and gloom of the government's automatic spending cuts: They shouldn't delay tax refunds.