Both GOP, Dem Plans to Avoid Sequester Fail in Senate

On the eve of automatic federal spending cuts, the U.S. Senate Thursday voted down a bill by Republicans, then a bill by Democrats, that would have put an end to sequestration.

First, senators rejected legislation put forward by Republican leadership that would have placed discretion (and blame) in the hands of President Barack Obama to implement spending cuts for the remainder of 2013. The bill was voted down 38-to-62, according to Politico. It failed to get Democratic support due to its lack of tax increases as part of deficit reduction.

A vote then failed, 51-49 on Democrats measure, which included tax increases.

Failure of the partisan bills means Congress is now preparing to leave the capital for the weekend, with no agreement on avoiding across-the-board sequestration cuts.

Florida's defense and tourism industries must now brace for the automatic cuts.Miami will experience the worst of the tourism effects, because 97 percent of overnight visitors to the city arrive by air and sequestration limits the amount of customs, TSA and FAA officials, resulting in higher delays, according to Florida TaxWatch.

Florida is also one of the leading states for the defense industry, with three unified combatant commands, 20 major Air Force and Navy installations, and annually contributes more than $73.4 billion to the economy. The state also is home to more than 750,000 defense-industry jobs.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott had urged Obama and Congress this week to come up with common-sense reductions that would not put so many jobs and the economy at risk.