President Obama and congressional leaders met for just over an hour this afternoon to work on a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" in a meeting that was described as "constructive and candid."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. all met at the White House and left without speaking to reporters. However, a Pelosi aide described the meeting to CBS News as "constructive and candid."
The aide said that, in the meeting, Reid and McConnell said they will continue trying to work out a deal. The aide also confirmed that Boehner said he will not move until the Senate acts first.
He explained, "I think the next 24 hours will be very instructive as to what we're able to accomplish," adding, "There's no concrete proposal at this time. We have a number of different directions we're going to try to take and we're going to see what can be worked out."
McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor after the meeting, expressed his hope "that we can come forward as early as Sunday and have a recommendation that I can make to my conference," adding that he is "hopeful and optimistic."Reid said, "We had a long meeting in the White House. It was very constructive. We hope that will bear fruit, but that is what we hoped a lot."
A source familiar with the White House meeting tells CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett that the chief sticking point is the income threshold beyond which tax cuts will expire. The president pushed for the threshold to be $250,000, but Republicans balked.
The White House has announced that the president will deliver a statement at 5:45 p.m. ET to discuss what happened at the meeting.
This afternoon's last-ditch "fiscal cliff" meeting between President Obama and congressional leaders was expected to include discussion of one final proposal form the president, CBS News has learned.
It reportedly would look very similar to what the president proposed before talks broke down between the White House and Boehner, though to move the talks forward rapidly, considering it's less than four days before the "cliff" hits, he might throw in some sweeteners for Republicans, potentially an entitlement cut such as "chained" consumer price index (CPI) for Social Security, which would measure inflation at a different rate, resulting in lower Social Security payments for recipients.
Before Mr. Obama and Boehner cut their talks off prior to Christmas, they were seemingly closing in on a deal, with the president offering $1.2 trillion in tax revenues and $800 billion in spending cuts to Boehner's $1 trillion of each. Also, Boehner had proposed letting the Bush-era tax cuts expire for those making $1 million or more; Mr. Obama had offered changing the top threshold to $400,000, as opposed to the current $250,000 threshold.
The crucial issue in today's meeting was the tax threshold, Garrett reports. Mr. Obama will stick to the Democrats' idea of letting the cuts expire on those making over $250,000 and ask for an extension on unemployment benefits, which expire tomorrow, an official familiar with the meeting told Garrett. Boehner and McConnell are united in opposition to the $250,000 threshold and nothing will move if Mr. Obama holds firm with his party on letting the tax rates expire on that level of income.
However, Garrett reports, McConnell is ready to deal and has Republican support to strike a deal in the $500,000 range or slightly higher.
Also, there are side discussions to include a variety of "patches" for the Alternative Minimum Tax, the doc fix (Medicare reimbursement rates shrink by 27 percent on Jan. 1) and jobless benefits, which expire tomorrow.
If the Republicans can budge Obama up to $500,000, a small tax deal with the side fixes may be doable. Republicans say it's all up to Obama's flexibility; the White House says it's all up to the GOP to guarantee up or down votes.
Combine a few letters from the words REPUBLICAN DEMOCRAT and they Could Spell..AMERI-CAN-DO & ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY SHOULD..SPELL..AMERI-CAN-DO
NEITHER OF THESE WORDS (REPUBLICAN,DEMOCRAT) SPELLED SEPARATELY CAN SPELL.. "AMERI-CAN-DO" It Takes Both To Spell AMERI-CAN-DO and it will take BOTH PARTIES TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE FOR ALL OF AMERICA'S CHILDREN & THEIR CHILDREN.
"UNITED WE STAND" and "TEAM WORK WORKS" (these statements aren't just words they are facts)
Mr. Obama Is NOT just the Democrats President he is "THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES" ALL STATES & ALL PARTIES PRESIDENT.. MR. OBAMA.. IS AMERICA'S LEADER YOUR LEADER/OUR LEADER, HE WAS ELECTED BY AMERICA TO LEAD OUR NATION. "SO LET HIM LEAD"
"THIS IS WHY "WE THE PEOPLE PUT HIM IN OFFICE".. WORK WITH HIM "WHATEVER IT TAKES" COMPROMISE WITH THE PRESIDENT & WORK WITH HIM..THIS IS YOUR JOB.
IT CERTAINLY ISN'T PRODUCTIVE FOR ANY PARTY TO HURT AMERICAN'S BY NOT WORKING WITH AMERICA'S LEADER THAT; "WE THE PEOPLE" ELECTED TO BE OUR PRESIDENT.
We are again facing the result of 60 years of irresponsibility from both political parties. Neither party is willing to tell people honestly what things cost. We can not go forward without both raising taxes and cutting spending. BTW ... Cutting spending is not spending less than what you hoped for. It is spending less than you did the year before.
Items that should be done.
1) Simplify our tax code. Our tax system is based more on exceptions than the rule. He who can hire the most accountants wins. Hiring an account should mot be a required part of paying taxes. The personal tax code should fit in a small pamphlet with almost no exceptions to the rule.
2) Streamline the military and force them to make choices. They can not have everything. Tell them how much they get and let them decide how to spend it based on military need rather than building billion dollar systems helps my campaign contributor.
3) Streamline Social Security and Medicare. Where can we add efficacy with computers? What red tape is redundant and unnecessary? Make penalties for fraud large enough to recover all lost funds plus some extra and pay a reward to whistle blowers.
4) savings start at home. Congress needs to reduce it's own expenses. On top of the salaries, health care, and general expenses of congress, each member of the house spends 1 million on personal staff and each senator spends 5 million on personal staff to do the job we hired them to do. The total is over 1 billion a year. They need to reduce personal spending and actually do the job themselves.
The over paid, over benefited and under educated do nothings in congress continue on their course to oblivion. They are caught a trap of their own making and subject to the tyranny of a bunch of zealot driven tea party know nothings. This is a totally idiotic situation. This congress is the worst in our history and seemingly still wants to add to it's record. Make a deal NOW and don't start this nonsense in the next months over the debt ceiling. We, the public are telling you it's time to stop the childlike tantrums and grow up! We are the laughing stock of all the world
Well, despite the fact we may take a hit on our Social Security income, our doctors take a hit on Medicare reimbursement for our needed care, and more rich people stay richer, let's take a vote. No vote is far worse than a failed vote. Is it easier to fall off the cliff and moan we are "victims"? I won't buy that. If those of us making half the poverty threshold are willing to sacrifice, and those making too much for their own good are willing to give up some, why is this a stalemate? The people affected by this are in agreement, so vote. We've already decided. All we need is you to finish the paperwork.
What don't Republicans get out of loosing the 2012 elections? The majority of people have spoken: They want what the Democrats campaigned on: Raise taxes on the rich; cut defense; close all corporate loop holes; end corporate tax subsidies. The fact that they held on to the House has to do with their gerrymandering of the voting districts to favor their Party. Plenty of minorities complained of being stripped of their representation. We saw how they sought and continue to constrict voter access to the ballot. The Republicans have shown themselves to have become a Party of crooks and hostage takers. They have intentionally manufactured massive national crises over the past 12 years to bring our country to it's knees. They almost succeeded.
We the people know that the Republicans will continue to do all in their power to strip the middle class, starve the poor and elderly out of existence and let the commercial oligarchs enrich themselves on the taxes paid by ordinary working people. Destroying the public safety net is their top priority. The entire debt and deficit issue is utilized by them to achieve the destruction of the public safety net and further erode the financial resources of our government so that no corporation will ever have to be concerned with paying taxes and government oversight and regulation. Already we know that the majority of taxes we the consumers pay on our Utilities, phone and cable never leave the corporate coffers. The Republicans have made every effort to bankrupt our country leaving it rife for corporate takeover. The Tea Party agenda, financed by the Koch brothers is to render our government lame and dysfunctional. Looks like they are succeeding. Ugly but true that a small radical minority can bring down our country's economy and render our government impotent.
Nope. Americans still voted Republicans enough power to stop anything they want. Americans have reached the pinnacle of indecisiveness. The two party system fails again.
From the last election it is clear that the Republicons are a crooked set of people willing to do anything underhanded to get it there way. The people who really abuse the USA are the rich by not paying their fair share. I would like to see the rich pay in percentage what I have to pay. Most of the rich pay less than their secretaries and want more. They are the real drag on the economy. I hope in the years to come that the Democrats will push out all of the crooked republicons.
What do you mean? From the last election it appears what the Americans want is for the Republicans to be there to thwart President Obama, and for President Obama to be there to thwart the Republicans, in other words, more of the awful same.
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http://theallegiant.com/obama-fiscal-cliff/
WE CAN AND WE MUST DO..
Combine a few letters from the words REPUBLICAN DEMOCRAT and they Could Spell..AMERI-CAN-DO & ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY SHOULD..SPELL..AMERI-CAN-DO
NEITHER OF THESE WORDS (REPUBLICAN,DEMOCRAT) SPELLED SEPARATELY CAN SPELL.. "AMERI-CAN-DO" It Takes Both To Spell AMERI-CAN-DO and it will take BOTH PARTIES TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE FOR ALL OF AMERICA'S CHILDREN & THEIR CHILDREN.
"UNITED WE STAND" and "TEAM WORK WORKS"
(these statements aren't just words they are facts)
Mr. Obama Is NOT just the Democrats President he is "THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES" ALL STATES & ALL PARTIES PRESIDENT.. MR. OBAMA.. IS AMERICA'S LEADER YOUR LEADER/OUR LEADER, HE WAS ELECTED BY AMERICA TO LEAD OUR NATION. "SO LET HIM LEAD"
"THIS IS WHY "WE THE PEOPLE PUT HIM IN OFFICE".. WORK WITH HIM "WHATEVER IT TAKES" COMPROMISE WITH THE PRESIDENT & WORK WITH HIM..THIS IS YOUR JOB.
IT CERTAINLY ISN'T PRODUCTIVE FOR ANY PARTY TO HURT AMERICAN'S BY NOT WORKING WITH AMERICA'S LEADER THAT;
"WE THE PEOPLE" ELECTED TO BE OUR PRESIDENT.
"TIME TO TEAM UP FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmw69rIuCww
Items that should be done.
1) Simplify our tax code. Our tax system is based more on exceptions than the rule. He who can hire the most accountants wins. Hiring an account should mot be a required part of paying taxes. The personal tax code should fit in a small pamphlet with almost no exceptions to the rule.
2) Streamline the military and force them to make choices. They can not have everything. Tell them how much they get and let them decide how to spend it based on military need rather than building billion dollar systems helps my campaign contributor.
3) Streamline Social Security and Medicare. Where can we add efficacy with computers? What red tape is redundant and unnecessary? Make penalties for fraud large enough to recover all lost funds plus some extra and pay a reward to whistle blowers.
4) savings start at home. Congress needs to reduce it's own expenses. On top of the salaries, health care, and general expenses of congress, each member of the house spends 1 million on personal staff and each senator spends 5 million on personal staff to do the job we hired them to do. The total is over 1 billion a year. They need to reduce personal spending and actually do the job themselves.
We the people know that the Republicans will continue to do all in their power to strip the middle class, starve the poor and elderly out of existence and let the commercial oligarchs enrich themselves on the taxes paid by ordinary working people. Destroying the public safety net is their top priority. The entire debt and deficit issue is utilized by them to achieve the destruction of the public safety net and further erode the financial resources of our government so that no corporation will ever have to be concerned with paying taxes and government oversight and regulation. Already we know that the majority of taxes we the consumers pay on our Utilities, phone and cable never leave the corporate coffers. The Republicans have made every effort to bankrupt our country leaving it rife for corporate takeover. The Tea Party agenda, financed by the Koch brothers is to render our government lame and dysfunctional. Looks like they are succeeding. Ugly but true that a small radical minority can bring down our country's economy and render our government impotent.