-House Speaker: Still Waiting For Admin Plan on Entitlements, Spending Cuts
-Chats With Obama, Geithner Have Not Advanced Deal, Need White House Plan
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday he’s
“disappointed with where we are right now” in talks between the White House and
Congress in averting the fiscal cliff.
At a briefing following a meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner,
Boehner declined to say what Geithner had to say, other than criticizing the
lack of a plan from the administration.
But Boehner said the combination of his meeting with the Treasury secretary
Thursday and a phone conversation with President Barack Obama Wednesday have not
led him to believe that the White House is ready to negotiate seriously.
Boehner said little progress has been made in the last two weeks in the
fiscal cliff talks.
He called his conversation with Obama “direct and straightforward,” but the
administration has yet to offer “serious spending cuts” or entitlement reforms.
These spending proposals are necessary for the GOP to go forward with its
willingness to support additional revenues.
“It’s the spending that is out of control,” Boehner said, though when asked
he declines to provide specifics.
The Speaker also said any debt ceiling increase must be part of a package
of serious spending cuts.
He declined to say what specific proposals he wants to see from Obama.
“There are a lot of options on the table,” he said.
–MNI Washington Bureau; tel: +1 202-371-2121; email: jshaw@mni-news.com
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