-House Speaker Boehner: ‘This Is A Stalemate’
-Still Waiting For Administration’s Proposals on Entitlements
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – House Speaker John Boehner said Friday that little
progress has been made in the talks between the White House and Congress in
averting the fiscal cliff, and the Speaker put the blame squarely on President
Obama’s shoulders.
At a briefing, Boehner said the talks have deadlocked over basic issues:
taxes and entitlements.
“This is a stalemate,” Boehner said.
“Right now, we’re almost nowhere,” he added.
Boehner scheduled his briefing to respond to Obama’s campaign style event
in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
“We’re ready to work with the president,” Boehner said, repeating his
willingness to consider new revenues if they are achieved in the context of
closing tax loopholes and improving the efficiency of the tax code.
He repeated his opposition to higher marginal tax rates.
Boehner refused to put a timeline on the state of negotiations, but said
“sooner is better than later” in reaching an agreement.
Boehner blasted Obama’s initial budget offer this week as “not serious,”
and said the GOP is still “seeking a bipartisan solution.”
Republicans, he said, want a “balanced approach” that includes new revenues
linked to entitlement reforms and spending controls.
–MNI Washington Bureau; tel: +1 202-371-2121; email: yndiaye@mni-news.com
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