It's an ominous term: "sequestration."

Tt's one of the latest hot-button phrases you may have heard out of Washington since "fiscal cliff" and "debt ceiling."

Sequestration is a series of automatic, government-wide spending cuts that could affect the military, education, even how long you wait in airport security lines.

The across-the-board cuts aim to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next decade.

They were averted at the beginning of the year in the scaled-back fiscal cliff bill.

Congress and the president have less than two weeks to reach a deal before these cuts are due.