The top congressionial Republican called Friday
on President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats to act to avert the
looming "fiscal cliff", just hours after he was forced to pull his
own "Plan B" proposal from consideration before a vote.
"The House did not take up the tax bill last night because we
didn't have the votes to pass it. It's not the outcome that I wanted,
but that was the will of the House," Speaker of the House John
Boehner said.
"So unless the president and Congress take action, tax rates will
go up on every American taxpayer and devastating defence cuts will go
into effect in 10 days," he said, referring to the so-called fiscal
cliff.
He said Republicans would continue to work with lawmakers in both
chambers to avert that situation, and stressed he was not walking
away from talks with Obama.
"We've got differences, but the country's got big spending
problems, and we've got to get serious about addressing it," he said.
Boehner said action is possible on a bill passed by Congress, the
lower chamber controlled by the Republicans, over the summer that
would maintain the status quo of tax cuts for all Americans as well
as a separate plan to avert harsh spending cuts.
He said the upper chamber, the Senate controlled by Democrats, had
ignored those proposals.
Instead, Boehner and Obama have for weeks argued back and forth
over a package that would replace the severe austerity measures due
to take effect after year's end with a more gradual package of tax
increases and spending cuts.
Late Thursday, Boehner was unexpectedly forced to withdraw his
"Plan B" bill, which would have raised taxes only on those making
more than 1 million dollars per year.
The move was an abrupt and embarassing setback. It put already
stalled budget talks into a deeper chill and propelled the country
faster toward the fiscal cliff that looms on December 31.
He said Friday some of his fellow Republicans were concerned they
would be seen as voting to increase taxes if they supported the
proposal.
