by Janine Vanderburg, CEO, JVA Consulting

It’s snowing today, and I’m doing what many are doing—staying home, reading and watching movies. In my case, I can’t get enough of House of Cards, the Netflix political drama series starring Kevin Spacey as Congressman Frank Underwood, a man who will stop at nothing in his attempts to wield influence. 

Tonight I’ll be rooting for my favorite movies of the year, Argo and Lincoln, to win Oscars. I loved Spielberg’s focus on Lincoln’s wheeling and dealing to get the votes he needed for the 13th Amendment.

And as we are just a few short days from the federal sequester—which will have a devastating impact on many of the social service programs that JVA Consulting’s clients provide—I can’t help but wonder:

• Does Frank Underwood have anything on any of the current members of Congress that could be leveraged to get them to act, instead of allowing the sequester to happen on March 1?
• Are there any post office jobs—ok, we know there aren’t those, but maybe some other federal appointments—that could be doled out, Lincoln-style, to secure a deal on a viable solution to the budget crisis?

With programs that provide safety nets for those who most need them about to be decimated, I’d love to see a little wheeling and dealing. A girl can dream, right?

In case that doesn’t work, JVA has put together a list of resources on the federal sequester and federal funding overall.