The White House said on Tuesday it was starting to get ready for potentially painful year-end spending cuts, and was committed to shielding U.S. military personnel compensation from any government budget crunch. Jeffrey Zients, acting director of President Barack Obama's Office of Management and Budget, said discussions would start soon on how to weather the cuts known as "sequestration" that would take place if Congress cannot get to a deficit deal, according to Reuters. "If allowed to occur, the sequestration would be highly destructive to national security and domestic priorities, as well as to core government functions," he said in a memo. "The president remains confident that Congress will act, but because it has not yet made progress towards enacting sufficient deficit reduction, the Office of Management and Budget will work with agencies, as necessary, on issues raised by a sequestration of this magnitude." -- SPA
