Faced with a political impasse and with just 10 days left until the end of the year, President Barack Obama urged Congress on Friday to pass a smaller measure to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. Speaking to the press before departing for Christmas vacation, the president laid out three things he wanted in a scaled-down package: the extension of Bush-era tax rates for incomes below $250000, the extension of unemployment insurance benefits and the framework for larger deficit reduction. "I've asked leaders of Congress to work towards a package that prevents a tax hike on middle-class Americans, protects unemployment insurance for two million Americans and lays the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction," Obama said. "That's an achievable goal. That can get done in 10 days." The president's remarks came after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and phone conversation with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). His new plan is the latest hit to the prospects of a larger grand bargain, but that might be music to the ears of some Democrats and Republicans alike. An earlier blow was dealt last night when the House of Representatives failed to vote on a Plan B proposal from Boehner, a fallback measure to extend current tax rates for all incomes below $1 million after Jan. 1. Prior to that, the president had modified his own offer from seeking $1.6 trillion in taxes and about $400 billion in spending cuts to $1.2 trillion in taxes and ...

• published: 22 Dec 2012
• views: 47
• author: ThePrincessHira