GOP Leaders Urge Obama to 'Stop Campaigning' on Sequester; Rick Scott Says ‘Stop Playing Chicken’

As President Barack Obama is slated to visit a military community in Virginia Tuesday, House Republican leaders are blasting the president for his campaign tactics.

Answering questions from the media Monday, House Speaker John Boehner and other top GOP members said it was time for Obama to "stop campaigning" and work with Congress to avert the $85 billion in cuts that will begin Friday.

The impact of the cuts to Floridas defense industry is estimated to include 40,000 to 80,000 in job losses and the reduction of nearly $1 billion in defense spending across the state. The Florida National Guard alone estimates an annual impact of $27.2 million and nearly 1,000 employees furloughed for 20 percent of the remaining year. That would equal more than $7 million in lost wages.

"If the president was serious, he'd sit down with Harry Reid and begin to address our problems,"saidBoehner, according to Fox News.

On Tuesday, the president is scheduled to visit Newport News for an event that will outline the impact the cuts will have on a shipbuilding facility.

The president counters that Republicans will be the party responsible for the deep cuts, asserting that they would rather go through with the sequester than close tax loopholes.

Gov. Rick Scott voiced his concerns on the looming cuts Monday, comparing the sequestration stalemate in D.C. to an elementary school game of chicken.

Sequestration means the Obama administration and Congress failed to do their job to manage the budget, Scott said. As thousands of Floridians lose their jobs, the Obama administration and Congress are getting paid for not doing theirs. Thats just wrong.