W.H.: ‘No Doubt’ Congress Failing to ‘Reverse Sequester’ Will Hurt Economy

KARL: "Picking up on your answer to John's question, you mentioned what Congress can and what they might not do. Is there a danger that if Congress fails to act on a budget, on the debt ceiling which is coming up as well, on infrastructure, that Congress' action and inaction on those fronts could put us into a recession?"

EARNEST: "There is no doubt that Congress failing to act in a responsible way to pass a budget and reverse sequester is going to have negative consequences for the U.S. economy. And particularly at this time when we are seeing so much volatility in economies all around the globe, it seems like a bad time for an unforced error. Now, I would acknowledge that we have seen a lot of unforced errors from the Congress over the last several years. And in spite of those unforced errors we have been able to build up some momentum behind the economy. I think what we would like to see is Congress take the kind of action that would actually build on that momentum as opposed to take steps, or not take steps, as the case may be, to undermine that momentum."