Congress may be out this week, but House of Representatives Democrats want it in. So its Steering and Policy Committee will conduct a hearing Thursday on the impact of the automatic spending cuts due to take effect March 1.

The Democratic hearing will feature Reps. Rob Andrews, D-N.J., Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.

Witnesses will include Megan M. Allen, Teacher, Shaw Elementary School in Tampa, Fla., and the 2010 Florida Teacher of the Year; Marion Blakey, President and CEO, Aerospace Industries Association;  Stephen S. Fuller, Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University and Mary C. Selecky, Secretary, Washington State Department of Health.

Among Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, write an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal outlining his position.

Among his views:

"The president's sequester is the wrong way to reduce the deficit, but it is here to stay until Washington Democrats get serious about cutting spending. The government simply cannot keep delaying the inevitable and spending money it doesn't have.

"So, as the president's outrage about the sequester grows in coming days, Republicans have a simple response: Mr. President, we agree that your sequester is bad policy. What spending are you willing to cut to replace it?"