President Obama urges lawmakers to meet in the middle

Congress gets back to work Monday with a giant deadline ahead of them.

On Friday, $85 billion in automatic, across-the-board budget cuts kick in — unless they can agree on an alternative.

The White House released a state-by-state impact report Sunday. It outlines which programs could be affected, and how.

Here in California, schools, military and law enforcement agencies, and health programs face cuts.

But some say, its not as bad as the Obama administration is making it out to be.

The White House paints a dire picture–if lawmakers don’t reach a budget deal by Friday.

It includes childcare canceled for tens of thousands of kids, long airport security lines, delays of flights because with a shortage of controllers, and military cuts that will leave us “second rate,” according to the defense secretary.

The president wants more tax revenue, republicans say no. They’ve already raised taxes on the rich.

The cuts — 5 to 7 percent for most government departments — will be phased in over the next seven months.

Some say these cuts are not as dramatic as they seem.

Many Americans hope the so-called sequester will be avoided altogether.

The president will be working toward a solution. He’s expected to discuss the budget stalemate with governors during a Monday meeting at the White House.

He says he’s looking for “good partners” among both Republican and Democrat governors from across the nation.

If you’d like to see the entire state by state list of potential impacts, you can go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/sequester-factsheets/California.pdf