Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) spoke with federal workers at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland about looming budget cuts through the sequestration process. Sen. Cardin said that it was “unlikely” that an alternative to the severe budget cuts called for in sequestration would be avoided before the March 1st deadline. Sequestration calls for across-the board cuts to government agencies totaling $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years, with $1.6 billion coming out of the NIH budget. 
Sen. Cardin told NIH employees to “put a face on and personalize what you do” saying that people are not attacking federal workers but government.