President Obama held a public event with a group of firefighters and police officers on Tuesday to pressure Republicans on the upcoming round of automatic budget cuts under the sequester. Obama wants Republicans to end tax breaks mostly for the wealthy to avoid the $85 billion in spending cuts set to take effect on March 1 under a previous budget deal. In his remarks, Obama said the cuts will cause major economic damage.

President Obama: “These cuts are not smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy. They will add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls. So, now Republicans in Congress face a simple choice: Are they willing to compromise to protect vital investments in education and healthcare and national security and all the jobs that depend on them? Or would they rather put hundreds of thousands of jobs and our entire economy at risk just to protect a few special-interest tax loopholes that benefit only the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations? That’s the choice.”

A new analysis from the economist group Macroeconomic Advisers warned on Tuesday the sequester will slow economic growth by more than half a percentage point and result in the loss of 700,000 jobs.