Progress on US 'fiscal cliff' talks stalls
Source: Agencies |
December 21, 2012, Friday
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THE US talks on avoiding the "fiscal cliff" appeared stalled once more yesterday as the Republican-controlled House moved ahead on a backup bill that Democrats say won't get through the Senate and the White House says President Barack Obama will veto.
Obama and House Speaker John Boehner had appeared to be making progress in recent days on avoiding the recession-threatening combination of tax increases and deep spending cuts that will kick in on January 1 if a deal isn't made on tackling the country's chronic deficit spending.
But Boehner, the most powerful Republican in Congress, then made the surprise offer of a bill that would raise taxes on people earning over US$1 million a year. That would spare most workers from a tax hike but leave in place painful budget cuts to the military and domestic agencies.
Obama has wanted taxes to rise on household incomes of more than US$250,000, but he had softened that stance to more than US$400,000 as a deal had appeared closer.
Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, made clear what everyone in Washington had suspected - that a deal before Christmas was unlikely. Reid said lawmakers will be back the Thursday after Christmas.
A supremely confident Obama has dismissed Boehner's "Plan B" proposal, telling reporters that he and Boehner were just a few hundred billion dollars apart on a 10-year, US$2 trillion-plus deficit-cutting pact.
Republicans should take the deal he's offering, Obama said on Wednesday, noting he won re-election with a call for higher taxes on the wealthy.
The president added, pointedly, that the nation wants conciliation, not a contest of ideologies, after last week's Connecticut school shooting.
Boehner said Obama would bear responsibility for "the largest tax increase in history" if he makes good on his veto threat. But even some Republicans are not happy with Boehner's backup proposal.
Democrats, in the majority in the Senate, gave no indication of their plans.
Obama and House Speaker John Boehner had appeared to be making progress in recent days on avoiding the recession-threatening combination of tax increases and deep spending cuts that will kick in on January 1 if a deal isn't made on tackling the country's chronic deficit spending.
But Boehner, the most powerful Republican in Congress, then made the surprise offer of a bill that would raise taxes on people earning over US$1 million a year. That would spare most workers from a tax hike but leave in place painful budget cuts to the military and domestic agencies.
Obama has wanted taxes to rise on household incomes of more than US$250,000, but he had softened that stance to more than US$400,000 as a deal had appeared closer.
Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, made clear what everyone in Washington had suspected - that a deal before Christmas was unlikely. Reid said lawmakers will be back the Thursday after Christmas.
A supremely confident Obama has dismissed Boehner's "Plan B" proposal, telling reporters that he and Boehner were just a few hundred billion dollars apart on a 10-year, US$2 trillion-plus deficit-cutting pact.
Republicans should take the deal he's offering, Obama said on Wednesday, noting he won re-election with a call for higher taxes on the wealthy.
The president added, pointedly, that the nation wants conciliation, not a contest of ideologies, after last week's Connecticut school shooting.
Boehner said Obama would bear responsibility for "the largest tax increase in history" if he makes good on his veto threat. But even some Republicans are not happy with Boehner's backup proposal.
Democrats, in the majority in the Senate, gave no indication of their plans.
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