-House Minority Leader Pelosi: Hammers House GOP For Bolting DC This Wk
-Rep. Pelosi: ‘Everyone Knows What The Elements Are’ of Deal
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Thursday said
Congress and the White House need to reach an agreement soon on legislation to
avert the fiscal cliff and put in place a major deficit reduction plan.
She chided Republicans for “stretching out” the negotiations.
At a briefing, Pelosi said “everyone knows what the elements are” of a
fiscal deal and that the GOP needs to either accept or reject that framework.
Pelosi said Democrats are pushing for higher marginal tax rates not to
punish the wealthy but to generate revenues to help solve the nation’s fiscal
problems.
“It’s about the money,” she said, adding that the “beauty” of higher
marginal tax rates is that they “produce the revenue we need to produce a fair
and balanced solution.”
Pelosi said that fiscal talks are taking place both “formally” and
informally.”
“Let’s get to the table and talk comprehensively,” Pelosi said.
She chided House Republican leaders for convening the House only Tuesday
and Wednesday this week. She speculated that House Republicans leaders wanted to
get their rank-and-file members out of Washington for fear that they would put
pressure on GOP leaders to make concessions on tax policy.
She blasted the House GOP fiscal cliff offer Monday, saying it was designed
to appease the Republican base and was not offered “in furtherance of finding
common ground.”
–MNI Washington Bureau; tel: +1 202-371-2121; email: jshaw@mni-news.com
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