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Friday deadline arrives, Congress takes a long weekend

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Friday is the deadline for Congress to come up with a plan to avoid $85-billion worth of budget cuts.

It's now clear that plan is not going to come together before the deadline.

Congress left the capitol Thursday night for a long weekend, killing any chance at avoiding across the board budget cuts which kick in Friday.

President Obama has until midnight to sign the order mandating $85-billion in budget cuts.

The cuts were intended to be so painful that both sides would agree on an alternative plan to cut the deficit, but neither side would budge on the main issue: Raising tax revenue to pay down the debt.

"It is a day when people will be getting a pink slip," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

"I'm happy to work with the president, but the House has done its job, it's time for the Senate to do its job," said Rep. John Boehner.

"They've done nothing," said Senator Harry Reid. "They fall back on something they passed last Congress."

President Obama says he's still hopeful we can avoid the impact. He's hosting a meeting with democrat and republican leaders in Congress Friday.