President Obama took to the White House briefing room today, calling on Congress to act to avoid looming sequester cuts he warned will be "deep and indiscriminate" and could hurt a still sputtering economy.

"It will slow down our recovery," Obama warned of the pending sequester cuts, calling instead for a "balanced mix of spending cuts and more tax reform."

"Let's keep on chipping away at this problem together," Obama says.

Republicans were less than enthusiastic even before Obama spoke. House Speaker John Boehner charged that it was Obama who first proposed the sequester and "insisted it become law.

"Republicans have twice voted to replace these arbitrary cuts with common-sense cuts and reforms that protect our national defense," Boehner said in a release before Obama's appearance. "We believe there is a better way to reduce the deficit, but Americans do not support sacrificing real spending cuts for more tax hikes. The president's sequester should be replaced with spending cuts and reforms that will start us on the path to balancing the budget in 10 years."