President Barack Obama says there will be no deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" unless Republicans drop their opposition to raising tax rates on the wealthiest Americans.
The White House is rejecting a Republican counteroffer aimed at averting the "fiscal cliff," saying it does not meet what the White House calls "the test of balance."
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says President Barack Obama is ready for difficult concessions to reach a deficit deal, but Republican lawmakers must first commit to higher tax rates on the rich and specify what additional spending cuts they want in a deal to avoid the looming "fiscal cliff."
President Barack Obama is urging Congress to pass an extension of tax cuts for middle class families, saying a tax increase for them would be like a "lump of coal" for Christmas.
Everyone is watching Washington as lawmakers from both sides continue to struggle dodge the fiscal cliff, those expiring tax cuts and spending cuts that could plunge the economy back into the void.
Republican congressional leaders are accusing Democrats of moving the nation closer to the "fiscal cliff," by refusing to outline possible spending cuts.
After meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, House Speaker John Boehner says Democrats still haven't recommended cuts to government benefit programs as part of a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.
Obama administration officials are heading to Capitol Hill for talks that come amid increasing anxiety that the White House and top Republicans are wasting time as the government slides toward an economy-rattling "fiscal cliff."
Despite the recent hit from Sandy and the looming plunge over the "fiscal cliff," a Wednesday banking symposium in Manalapan was offered a positive forecast for the economy in 2013.
Even as some signs of disagreement emerge among Republicans on taxes, an administration official says the White House is stepping up behind-the-scenes negotiations on how to avoid the "fiscal cliff."