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Here We Go Again — and Again - President Obama and congressional Republicans continue to draw their lines in the sand on taxes, spending cuts and the debt ceiling. So far there have been two measures to keep the nation from experiencing another economic freefall. But they are only temporary, short-term fixes, and there is much work left to do. Here's the lowdown on fiscal battles to come and who wins. — Joyce Jones (Photos from left: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Don't Even Think About It - In the last press conference of his first term, Obama warned congressional lawmakers that he will not barter with them over the debt ceiling. The president called for them to lift it without any conditions, such as an equal amount of government spending cuts. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Kicking the Can - The House passed a bill on Jan. 24 to temporarily diffuse the debt-ceiling crisis until May. Republican lawmakers also abandoned their plan to tie raising the debt to spending cuts, but debates over that, taxes and spending loom.  (Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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No Budget, No Pay - The bill passed by the House, now under consideration in the Senate, calls for lawmakers to not be paid unless they've passed a budget when the temporary provision to lift the debt ceiling expires.(Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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CBC Says - No Budget, No Pay "is merely a short-term fix that does nothing to restore confidence in our economy or put Americans back to work," said Congressional Black Caucus chair Marcia Fudge. "Instead, it places American jobs, programs that protect seniors, veterans and the most vulnerable populations in jeopardy and impugns the constitution by bartering with congressional pay." (Photo: Jim Baron/MCT /LANDOV)

Photo By Jim Baron/MCT /LANDOV

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The S Word - Sequestration is the term used to describe automatic, across-the-board spending cuts to domestic programs and the Defense Department's budget. It is scheduled to begin on March 1. (Photo: Getty Images/ STOCK)

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Be Prepared - The White House has instructed federal agencies to prepare to operate at lower funding levels if sequestration goes into effect. In addition to hiring freezes and furloughs, agencies will also consider cutting funding for contracts and grants. (Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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Continuing Resolution - On March 31, a continuing resolution that has kept the federal government funded will expire. If congressional lawmakers don't pass a budget or another continuing resolution, the government could face a shut down. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Laying the Odds - According to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, sequestration will likely go into effect. The former GOP vice presidential nominee, however, said on NBC's Meet the Press Jan. 27 that lawmakers "aren't interested in shutting the government down." (Photo: NBC)