"This is bad policy, not necessary and appears to serve a political agenda," Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, told Graham and the panel.

Graham insisted the cuts aren't speculative but rather the law. He quoted from then-Sen. Barack Obama, who in 2007 pushed legislation calling for 90-day notices for employees of potential layoffs.

"Contractors are not the problem. We're the problem. We created this mess," Graham said, arguing that the notices would force Congress to come up with an alternative to avert the automatic cuts.

President Obama and congressional Republicans agreed last summer to a deficit-cutting bill that includes a mechanism that would trigger across-the-board cuts to defense and domestic programs totaling $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

Ratcheting up the political pressure, presidential candidate Mitt Romney and fellow Republicans have accused Obama of shirking his duty as commander in chief by failing to negotiate with Congress on a way to avoid the cuts.