President Obama called on Republican leaders Friday to support his plan to let taxes rise on income over $250,000 a year or to offer a clear alternative for averting the year-end “fiscal cliff” that could win Democratic support.
As congressional leaders from both parties gathered for a high-stakes meeting at the White House, Obama laid no new offers on the table, according to people familiar with the meeting. The president’s stand dashed the expectations of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said repeatedly Thursday that he was expecting a new offer and was prepared to review it.
Instead, Obama insisted that the package he outlined in a news conference Friday would pass both the House and the Senate if Republican leaders would stop blocking the legislation and put it to a vote, permitting a majority of lawmakers in both parties to work their will. In addition to extending tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans, that package would keep unemployment benefits flowing to 2 million unemployed workers, protect millions of unsuspecting taxpayers from the bite of the costly alternative minimum tax and make other urgent policy changes.
If McConnell and House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) fail to offer a reasonable counterproposal, these people said, Obama planned to demand that they permit an “up-or-down vote” on his proposal.
After a little more than an hour of talks, Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) were seen leaving the White House without speaking to waiting reporters. A White House official said the talks began about 3:10 p.m. EST and ended at about 4:15 p.m.
After the meeting, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and McConnell returned to the Capitol, where more than 20 senators from both parties crowded around McConnell on the Senate floor.
As McConnell appeared to provide them an animated briefing, Reid swept through the hall outside the chamber. Asked about the White House meeting, Reid said, “We have a lot of paths forward, we just have to find out which one we can take.”
He added, “We had a long meeting in the White House, it was very constructive. We hope that it will bear fruit, but that is what we’ve hoped a lot. I think that the next 24 hours will be very instructive as to what we’re able to accomplish.”
The president’s uncompromising stance comes after senior Republican aides signaled Thursday that a different tax threshold — set higher, at annual income above $400,000 — would have a better chance of winning broad GOP support. It was not immediately clear whether the president’s position would serve as a prelude to additional negotiations, or would serve to snuff out talks that had been proceeding quietly between his staff and senior aides to McConnell.
Obama has good reason to believe that his proposal could win majority support in both chambers. The Senate approved a similar bill this summer to extend current tax rates on income under $250,000 a year. The House rejected such a bill. But in the days since the November election, which returned Obama to the White House and enhanced Democratic power on Capitol Hill, many House Republicans have expressed support for taking action to protect as many taxpayers as possible. If every House Democrat voted in favor of such a measure, only about 30 House Republicans would have to join them for the bill to pass.
Obama urges GOP leaders to back his ‘cliff’ plan or offer acceptable alternative
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Obama urges GOP leaders to back his ‘cliff’ plan or offer acceptable alternative
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