“Congress should do its job and pass a balanced plan for deficit reduction,” Kenneth Baer, a spokesman for the administration budget office, said in an e-mail. He added: “There is time for Congress to act, and we hope that it will. Should it get to a point where it appears that Congress will not do its job and the sequester may take effect, we will be prepared.”

The Pentagon and those who service it — largely military contractors — have been a loud, unified voice, pressuring members of Congress about the cuts and their potential impact on local economies.

This month, for example, a group of executives from the Northrop Grumman Corporation met with members of the Connecticut delegation to announce that they were closing a plant in Norwalk and laying off 315 workers in part because of the impending sequester, said a person who attended the meeting but could not be identified speaking publicly about it. (A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment on the meeting.)

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has come to Capitol Hill more than once to complain about the cuts, and Republicans have offered several bills, including one that has passed the House, to undo sequestration. Members hammer the issue daily; the House Armed Services Committee has devoted its entire Web home page to the issue.

In contrast, the cuts to nonmilitary programs would be spread across scores of industries and groups, few of which have coalesced in a similar manner. While some administration officials have testified that the cuts would be harmful to government programs, few lawmakers have seized on their remarks and run with them.

There is an effort under way to write a letter to members of Congress from leaders of various groups, and the Coalition for Health Funding is trying to build awareness of the cuts through town hall meetings and other gatherings. “This is really a ‘Hey, what about us?’ effort,” said Emily J. Holubowich, the group’s executive director.