The Oregonian has a story up tonight “Mandatory spending cuts could be felt in Oregon in ways big and small, White House warns.” Click here to read it. When asked by the Oregonian to comment on the White House’s warnings, here is how I responded, in full, along with links to the facts if you’d like to read more:

"It didn't have to be this way. The President and the Democrats in the Senate could have supported our efforts in the House to offset the sequester with common sense spending reductions. Both in May and in December House Republicans passed legislation that replaced the sequester with smarter spending reductions, but the President and the Senate sat on their hands. Now it appears the Administration is going out of its way to make a bad situation worse by cutting programs and people who actually provide services. And remember, according the Congressional Budget Office, the federal government will get more tax revenue in 2013 than ever in the history of our country. Meanwhile, it's been nearly four years since the Democrat-controlled Senate has bothered to pass a budget, and once again this year, the President is nearly a month late submitting his budget. "

On May 10, 2012—nearly 10 months ago—the House passed H.R. 5652, the Sequester Replacement Act. Click here for a summary. On December 20, 2012—two months ago—the House passed H.R. 6684, the Spending Reduction Act of 2012. Click here for a summary. Neither bill has been taken up by the U.S. Senate, nor has the Senate passed or even considered a bill to replace the sequester. It’s time for the Senate to act—to put a plan on the table to replace the sequester with smarter spending reductions. But what should we expect when they haven’t even passed a budget in nearly four years?