Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf dies

NEW: Colin Powell says Schwarzkopf's leadership inspired a nation Schwarzkopf once told Larry King that he hated war Schwarzkopf commanded U.S. led-coalition forces during the 1991 Gulf War He was decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War

(CNN) -- Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, who led allied forces to a routing of Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and became one of the nation's most celebrated military heroes of the era, died Thursday, a U.S. defense official said. He was 78.

The death of the retired four-star Army general was confirmed by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who described Schwarzkopf as "one of the great military giants of the 20th century."

President Barack Obama called the death of Schwarzkopf a loss of an "American original."

"From his decorated service in Vietnam to the historic liberation of Kuwait and his leadership of United States Central Command, General Schwarzkopf stood tall for the country and Army he loved," Obama said.

"Our prayers are with the Schwarzkopf family, who tonight can know that his legacy will endure in a nation that is more secure because of his patriotic service."

.cnnArticleGalleryNav{border:1px solid #000;cursor:pointer;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:25px} .cnnArticleGalleryNavOn{background-color:#C03;border:1px solid #000;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:20px} .cnnArticleGalleryNavDisabled{background-color:#222;border:1px solid #000;color:#666;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:25px} .cnnArticleExpandableTarget{background-color:#000;display:none;position:absolute} .cnnArticlePhotoContainer{height:122px;width:214px} .cnnArticleBoxImage{cursor:pointer;height:122px;padding-top:0;width:214px} .cnnArticleGalleryCaptionControl{background-color:#000;color:#FFF} .cnnArticleGalleryCaptionControlText{cursor:pointer;float:right;font-size:10px;padding:3px 10px 3px 3px} .cnnArticleGalleryPhotoContainer cite{background:none repeat scroll 0 0 #000;bottom:48px;color:#FFF;height:auto;left:420px;opacity:.7;position:absolute;width:200px;padding:10px} .cnnArticleGalleryClose{background-color:#fff;display:block;text-align:right} .cnnArticleGalleryCloseButton{cursor:pointer} .cnnArticleGalleryNavPrevNext span{background-color:#444;color:#CCC;cursor:pointer;float:left;height:23px;text-align:center;width:26px;padding:4px 0 0} .cnnArticleGalleryNavPrevNextDisabled span{background-color:#444;color:#666;float:left;height:23px;text-align:center;width:25px;padding:4px 0 0} .cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{padding-right:68px;width:270px;margin:0 auto} .cnnGalleryContainer{float:left;clear:left;margin:0 0 20px;padding:0 0 0 10px} Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded coalition forces during the Gulf War, died Thursday, a U.S. official said. He was 78. Operation Desert Shield commander Schwarzkopf, center, with U.S. Special Forces soldiers in US-led allied gulf crisis-containing operations on September 27, 1990. Schwarzkopf is decorated with the medal of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, the highest French distinction awarded to a foreign policy figure by Gen. Maurice Schmitt, who led the French contingent to the allied operation against Iraq, at a ceremony at the Aubagne base, the French Foreign Legion base, in Southern France on July 24, 1991. Schwarzkopf salutes Iraqi Lt. Gen. Sultan Hashim Ahmad at the end of their talks to set cease-fire terms in the Gulf War on March 3, 1991, at a captured Iraqi air base. Schwarzkopf gives the thumbs up in Kuwait on April 17, 1994, during the last day of joint Kuwaiti-American-British maneuvers. Schwarzkopf was invited to observe the exercises, the biggest in the emirate since the Gulf War. Tony Hawk, Lhotse Merriam and Schwarzkopf attend the 21st Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner to benefit The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis at the Waldorf Astoria on September 19, 2006, in New York. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell talks with Schwarzkopf on December 6, 2002, during a receptionbefore the American Patriot Award Dinner in Washington. The dinner honored former U.S. President George H. W. Bush. Portrait of Schwarzkopf circa 1991. Schwarzkopf lunches at the Scientific Center in Kuwait City on February 26, 2001, to mark the 10th anniversary of Kuwait's liberation from Iraq. Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Schwarzkopf on stage after their speeches to veterans at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, on September 7, 2000. Schwarzkopf testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 11, 1993, alongside Maj. Kathleen Bergeron of the U.S. Marine Corps. Schwarzkopf and Bergeron defended the ban on gays in the military. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years HIDE CAPTION << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf through the years 1991: Schwarzkopf briefs the press .cnnArticleGalleryNav{border:1px solid #000;cursor:pointer;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:25px} .cnnArticleGalleryNavOn{background-color:#C03;border:1px solid #000;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:20px} .cnnArticleGalleryNavDisabled{background-color:#222;border:1px solid #000;color:#666;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:25px} .cnnArticleExpandableTarget{background-color:#000;display:none;position:absolute} .cnnArticlePhotoContainer{height:122px;width:214px} .cnnArticleBoxImage{cursor:pointer;height:122px;padding-top:0;width:214px} .cnnArticleGalleryCaptionControl{background-color:#000;color:#FFF} .cnnArticleGalleryCaptionControlText{cursor:pointer;float:right;font-size:10px;padding:3px 10px 3px 3px} .cnnArticleGalleryPhotoContainer cite{background:none repeat scroll 0 0 #000;bottom:48px;color:#FFF;height:auto;left:420px;opacity:.7;position:absolute;width:200px;padding:10px} .cnnArticleGalleryClose{background-color:#fff;display:block;text-align:right} .cnnArticleGalleryCloseButton{cursor:pointer} .cnnArticleGalleryNavPrevNext span{background-color:#444;color:#CCC;cursor:pointer;float:left;height:23px;text-align:center;width:26px;padding:4px 0 0} .cnnArticleGalleryNavPrevNextDisabled span{background-color:#444;color:#666;float:left;height:23px;text-align:center;width:25px;padding:4px 0 0} .cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{padding-right:68px;width:270px;margin:0 auto} .cnnGalleryContainer{float:left;clear:left;margin:0 0 20px;padding:0 0 0 10px} Harry Carey Jr., an actor best known for his characters in Western movies, died December 27 at age 91. 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People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 Helen Gurley Brown People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 sally ride obit Kitty Wells People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 Ray Bradbury People we've lost in 2012 Doc Watson People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 Maurice Sendak People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 Junior Seau People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 Mike Wallace Thomas Kinkade People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 Andrew Breitbart People we've lost in 2012 Gary Carter People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 People we've lost in 2012 Joe Paterno People we've lost in 2012 HIDE CAPTION << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 > >> Photos: People we've lost in 2012

Virtually unknown to the public before the Persian Gulf War, Schwarzkopf became a household name while he oversaw the buildup of 700,000 coalition troops, including more than 540,000 U.S. forces, after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990.

The war began on January 17, 1991, with the start of the nearly six-week air campaign against Iraq that was followed by a 100-hour ground offensive that pushed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait.

A Time magazine correspondent described the general, as he prepared his troops along the Kuwaiti border, as a man "with a John Wayne swagger and a growl like a grizzly."

Schwarzkopf, dubbed "Stormin' Norman" by his troops because of his reported temper, captured the public's imagination with his plain, frank talk about the war's progress.

He once told a room full of reporters: "As far as Saddam Hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational arts, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that, he's a great military man, I want you to know that."

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and, therefore, Schwarzkopf's commander, said the general's leadership during the war inspired the nation.

" 'Stormin' Norman' led the coalition forces to victory, ejecting the Iraqi Army from Kuwait and restoring the rightful government," Powell said in a statement. "His leadership not only inspired his troops, but also inspired the nation. He was a good friend of mine, a close buddy. I will miss him."

Schwarzkopf, a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran, ushered in a new era for the U.S. military, whose exploits were broadcast live around the clock.

After the war, he was featured in his desert fatigues on the cover of nearly every major American magazine, and he joined thousands of troops for a welcome-home ticker tape parade in New York City.

England's Queen Elizabeth II made him an honorary knight, and he received a standing ovation from Congress upon his return to the United States.

Former President George H.W. Bush, who is hospitalized, said the general "epitomized the 'duty, service, country' creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises."

"More than that, he was a good and decent man -- and a dear friend," Bush said in a statement released by his office.

While Schwarzkopf's leadership was heralded, critics raised questions about the decision to quickly end the ground war in Iraq and leave Hussein in power.

Schwarzkopf was heavily criticized in the Thomas E. Ricks book "The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today" for allowing Iraq to use helicopters in no-fly zones established after the war. Iraq used the helicopters to put down a Shiite uprising that had been openly encouraged by the United States.

Schwarzkopf told CNN's Larry King in a September 1992 interview that the preferred plan with Iraq was to avoid ever having to invade.

"We never wanted a war," he said. "Once the war started, we were hoping that ... they'd come to their senses and stop right then. ... After 38 days, we got to a point where we could launch the ground war and, by that time, they hadn't withdrawn."

While his role in the Gulf War made him famous, Schwarzkopf told King, war itself and the bloodshed that went with it didn't appeal to him.

"I hate war. Absolutely, I hate war," he said. "Good generalship is a realization that ... you've got to try and figure out how to accomplish your mission with a minimum loss of human life."

In his autobiography, "It Doesn't Take A Hero," Schwarzkopf outlined the reasons that coalition forces didn't press on to the Iraqi capital during the first Gulf War.

"Had the United States and the United Kingdom gone on alone to capture Baghdad, under the provisions of the Geneva and Hague conventions we would have been considered occupying powers and therefore would have been responsible for all the costs of maintaining or restoring government, education and other services for the people of Iraq."

Schwarzkopf wrote that had "we taken all of Iraq, we would have been like a dinosaur in the tar pit -- we would still be there, and we, not the United Nations, would be bearing the costs of that occupation."

Schwarzkopf supported the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, though he later criticized the Pentagon for what he called mistakes that included sending undertrained Reserve and National Guard troops into combat.

Schwarzkopf retired in August 1991, hit the lecture circuit and briefly was a military analyst for NBC.

He told King that he was asked to run for U.S. Senate.

"I got off the airplane and they came after me to, you know, run for senator in Florida, and I told them, 'No,' " he said. "I'm not a politician. I'd make a lousy politician."

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1934, he was named H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. after his father.

His father, Major Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, a West Point graduate who fought in World War I, became head of New Jersey State Police, helping to build the fledgling force and eventually leading the investigation of the infamous Lindbergh baby kidnapping.

"The day I was born, my father said ... 'That boy is going to West Point,' " Schwarzkopf recalled to King. "And that's the only thing I ever heard my entire young life."

After World War II, according to the book, the younger Schwarzkopf traveled to Iran to be with his father, who was helping advise the training of the country's police force under the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Schwarzkopf attended a Swiss boarding school and later returned to the New York region to enroll at West Point before heading to Vietnam for the first time in 1966.

"I prided myself on being unflappable even in the most chaotic of circumstances," he wrote. "That guise lasted until Vietnam, where I realized that I was dealing with human lives and if one were lost, it could never be replaced. I quickly learned that there was nothing wrong with being emotional."

He was commissioned a second lieutenant and served two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he received three Silver Stars. In 1983, he led troops during the invasion of Grenada.

Schwarzkopf, who died in Tampa, Florida, is survived by his wife, Brenda, two daughters and a son.

Senate passes fiscal cliff deal; House vote is next

The measure now goes to the House where a vote could come Tuesday A statement from House leadership made no promises Under the Senate package, taxes would stay the same for most Americans It leaves a range of big issues unaddressed.

As the fiscal cliff looms, what's your New Year's message to Washington? Go to CNN iReport to share your video.

(CNN) -- A full two hours after a midnight deadline, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a deal Tuesday to avert the feared fiscal cliff on an 89-8 vote.

The Senate package would put off budget cuts for two months and preserve Bush-era income tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 or couples earning less than $450,000.

The measure now goes to the House where it faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled body.

"Glad it's over," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, after the vote. "We'll see if the Republicans in the House can become functional instead of dysfunctional."

Sen. Reid: We've reached agreement McConnell: 'We've done some good'

A statement from House leadership made no promises.

"Decisions about whether the House will seek to accept or promptly amend the measure will not be made until House members -- and the American people -- have been able to review the legislation," the statement said.

A vote could come as early as New Year's Day. The House is scheduled to convene at noon.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, was hopeful the House will follow suit.

"The vote was 89 to 8. Bipartisan vote. 89 votes," he said. "I think it sends a strong message and I think it will be approved by the House."

What the package proposes

Read the bill (pdf)

Under the Senate package:

-- Taxes would stay the same for most Americans. But it will rise for individuals making more than $400,000 and couples making more than $450,000. For them, it will go from the current 35% to the Clinton-era rate of 39.6%.

-- Itemized deductions would be capped for those making $250,000 and for married couples making $300,000.

-- Taxes on inherited estates will go up to 40% from 35%.

-- Unemployment insurance would be extended for a year for 2 million people.

-- The alternative minimum tax -- a perennial issue -- would be permanently adjusted for inflation.

-- Child care, tuition and research and development tax credits would be renewed.

-- The "Doc Fix" -- reimbursements for doctors who take Medicare patients -- will continue, but it won't be paid for out of the Obama administration's signature health care law.

-- Prevents a spike in milk prices. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said milk prices would have doubled to $7 a gallon because a separate agriculture bill had expired.

What's not addressed

While the package provides some short-term certainty, it leaves a range of big issues unaddressed.

It doesn't mention the debt ceiling, and temporarily puts off for two months the so-called sequester -- a series of automatic cuts in federal spending that would have taken effect Wednesday. It would have reduced the budgets of most agencies and programs by 8% to 10%.

This means that, come late February, Congress will have to tackle both those thorny issues.

"We're going to have to deal with the sequester, that's true," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, "but look, this is better than nothing."

Reid said the agreement was a win for average Americans.

"I've said all along that our most important priority was to protect the middle class families," he said. "This legislation does that."

And maybe a bit more.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, median household income in 2011 was $50,054, which is well below the tax cut threshold approved by the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, praised the effort, but said it shouldn't have taken so long to get an agreement.

"We don't think taxes should be going up on anyone but we all knew that if we did nothing they would be going up on everyone today," he said. "We weren't going to let that happen."

All eyes on the House

As lawmakers left the chamber around 2 a.m., there was no sentiment of celebration, more a sense of relief that the vote was done.

One of the last members to leave was 88-year-old retiring Hawaii Senator Daniel Akaka. He walked down the steps bent over his cane, assisted by an aide, but smiling.

Others rubbed their eyes from lack of sleep. It was the end to a very long, down-to-the wire day -- and all eyes now turn to the House.

There's a lot at stake.

If the House doesn't act and the Bush administration's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire, broad tax increases will kick in as will $110 billion in automatic cuts to domestic and military spending.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has predicted the combined effect could dampen economic growth by 0.5%, possibly tipping the U.S. economy back into a recession and driving unemployment from its current 7.7% back over 9%.

President Barack Obama urged House members to pass the package "without delay."

GOP sources said House members saw little practical difference in settling the issue Monday night versus Tuesday.

But if tax-averse House Republicans approve the bill on Tuesday -- when taxes have technically gone up -- they can argue they've voted for a tax cut to bring rates back down, even after just a few hours, GOP sources said. That could bring some more Republicans on board, one source said.

Read more: Why your paycheck is getting smaller, no matter what

Concerns persist

Read more: What if there's no deal on fiscal cliff

The White House budget office noted in September that sequestration was designed during the 2011 standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling as "a mechanism to force Congress to act on further deficit reduction" -- a kind of doomsday device that was never meant to be triggered. But Congress failed to substitute other cuts by the end of 2012, forcing the government to wield what the budget office called "a blunt and indiscriminate instrument."

In its place, the Senate plan would use $12 billion in new tax revenue to replace half the expected deficit reduction from the sequester and leave another $12 billion in spending cuts, split half-and-half between defense and domestic programs.

Despite the progress, the White House cautioned that deficit reduction still requires more work.

"But tonight's agreement ensures that, going forward, we will continue to reduce the deficit through a combination of new spending cuts and new revenues from the wealthiest Americans," Obama said.

Read more: Medicare patients may suffer if country goes over fiscal cliff

Conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist, whose Americans for Tax Reform pushes candidates to sign a pledge never to raise taxes, said the plan "right now, as explained" would preserve most of the Bush tax cuts and wouldn't violate his group's pledge.

"Take the 84% of your winnings off the table," Norquist told CNN. "We spent 12 years getting the Democrats to cede those tax cuts to the American people. Take them off the table. Then we go back and argue about making the tax cuts permanent for everyone."

But Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary in the Clinton administration, said the $450,000 threshold "means the lion's share of the burden of deficit reduction falls on the middle class, either in terms of higher taxes down the road or fewer government services." In addition, he said, the plan does nothing to raise the federal debt ceiling just as the federal government bumps up against its borrowing limit.

And that, Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain told CNN, is likely to be "a whole new field of battle."

"We just added 2.1 trillion in the last increase in the debt ceiling, and spending continues to go up," McCain said. "I think there's going to be a pretty big showdown the next time around when we go to the debt limit."

Senate passes package to avert fiscal cliff

Senate approves deal to avoid the fiscal cliff Obama says more work will be needed and chides Congress for dragging its feet "Take the 84% of your winnings off the table," anti-tax crusader advises GOP

As the fiscal cliff looms, what's your New Year's message to Washington? Go to CNN iReport to share your video.

(CNN) -- A full two hours after a midnight deadline, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a last-minute deal to avert the feared fiscal cliff on a 89-8 vote.

The Senate package would put off budget cuts for two months and preserve Bush-era income tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 or couples earning less than $450,000.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said it shouldn't have taken so long to get an agreement, but still praised the effort.

"We've done some good for the country," he said. "Now it's time to stop Washington's out-of-control spending."

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The measure now goes to the House where it faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled body. A House vote could come as soon as Tuesday.

"The House will honor its commitment to consider the Senate agreement ..." said a statement from the House leadership, which includes Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, and Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers. "Decisions about whether the House will seek to accept or promptly amend the measure will not be made until House members -- and the American people -- have been able to review the legislation."

Read the bill (pdf)

Under the Senate package, tax rates on income above $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples would go back to the Clinton-era rate of 39.6%, up from the current 35%, and itemized deductions would be capped at $250,000 for individuals and $300,000 for couples. That would generate an estimated $600 billion in additional revenue over 10 years.

Taxes on inherited estates will go up to 40% from 35%, but the exemption will be indexed to rise with inflation -- a provision the source said was added at the insistence of moderate Democrats.

Unemployment insurance would be extended for a year for for 2 million people, and the alternative minimum tax -- a perennial issue -- would be permanently adjusted for inflation. Child care, tuition and research and development tax credits would be renewed. And the "Doc Fix" -- reimbursements for doctors who take Medicare patients -- will continue, but it won't be paid for out of the Obama administration's signature health care law.

Vice President Joe Biden had been in negotiations with McConnell since Sunday afternoon. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats, agreed to the plan in calls with President Barack Obama, a Democratic source said Monday night.

In the House, GOP sources said earlier Monday that there's little practical difference in settling the issue Monday night versus Tuesday. But if tax-averse House Republicans approve the bill on Tuesday -- when taxes have technically gone up -- they can argue they've voted for a tax cut to bring rates back down, even after just a few hours, GOP sources said. That could bring some more Republicans on board, one source said.

Economists warn the one-two punch of tax increases and spending cuts, known as "sequestration," could push the U.S. economy back into recession and drive unemployment back over 9% by the end of 2013. Obama had chided lawmakers for their last-minute scramble earlier Monday, hitting a nerve among several Republicans in the Senate.

Latest updates: Final fiscal cliff scramble

"They are close, but they're not there yet," he said. "And one thing we can count on with respect to this Congress is that if there is even one second left before you have to do what you're supposed to do, they will use that last second."

The president warned that if Republicans think they can get future deficit reduction solely through spending cuts "that will hurt seniors, or hurt students, or hurt middle-class families without asking also equivalent sacrifice from millionaires or companies with a lot of lobbyists ... they've got another thing coming."

That irked Republican senators who have been grappling for a deal with the Democratic majority in that chamber. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, called the president's comments "very unbecoming of where we are at this moment" and added, "My heart's still pounding."

"I know the president has fun heckling Congress," Corker said. "I think he lost probably numbers of votes with what he did."

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As Monday's deadline drew nigh, federal agencies were preparing for the possibility of furloughing workers. At the Pentagon, a Defense Department official said as many as 800,000 civilian employees could be forced to take unpaid days off as the armed services face an expected $62 billion in cuts in 2013 -- about 12% of its budget.

Those workers perform support tasks across the department, from maintaining aircraft and weapons systems to processing military payrolls and counseling families. The Pentagon believes it can operate for at least two months before any furloughs are necessary, but has to warn its civilian workforce that furloughs could be coming, the official said.

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The White House budget office noted in September that sequestration was designed during the 2011 standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling as "a mechanism to force Congress to act on further deficit reduction" -- a kind of doomsday device that was never meant to be triggered. But Congress failed to substitute other cuts by the end of 2012, forcing the government to wield what the budget office called "a blunt and indiscriminate instrument."

In its place, the Senate plan would use $12 billion in new tax revenue to replace half the expected deficit reduction from the sequester and leave another $12 billion in spending cuts, split half-and-half between defense and domestic programs.

Read more: Medicare patients may suffer if country goes over fiscal cliff

Despite Obama's backing, one leading Senate Democrat warned a deal could run into trouble -- not only from House Republicans who have long opposed any tax increase, but also from liberals in the Senate who oppose allowing more high-income households to escape a tax increase.

"No deal is better than a bad deal, and this looks like a very bad deal the way this is shaping up," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said. He was one of eight voting against the Senate deal

Conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist, whose Americans for Tax Reform pushes candidates to sign a pledge never to raise taxes, said the plan "right now, as explained" would preserve most of the Bush tax cuts and wouldn't violate his group's pledge.

"Take the 84% of your winnings off the table," Norquist told CNN. "We spent 12 years getting the Democrats to cede those tax cuts to the American people. Take them off the table. Then we go back and argue about making the tax cuts permanent for everyone."

But Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary in the Clinton administration, said the $450,000 threshold "means the lion's share of the burden of deficit reduction falls on the middle class, either in terms of higher taxes down the road or fewer government services." In addition, he said, the plan does nothing to raise the federal debt ceiling just as the federal government bumps up against its borrowing limit.

And that, Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain told CNN, is likely to be "a whole new field of battle."

"We just added 2.1 trillion in the last increase in the debt ceiling, and spending continues to go up," McCain said. "I think there's going to be a pretty big showdown the next time around when we go to the debt limit."