[h=3]By JANET HOOK[/h]Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) took to the House floor Tuesday to complain about the status of tax and spending talks with President Barack Obama, accusing the White House of "slow walking" the negotiations and calling again for the administration to say more about how it would cut spending.
In a brief speech broadcast by CSPAN as the House opened its daily session, Mr. Boehner said, "We are still waiting for the White House to identify what specific cuts the president is willing to make.''
"Where are the president's spending cuts?'' Mr. Boehner asked. "The longer the White House slow walks this process, the closer our economy gets to the fiscal cliff.''
It was an unusually public forum for a report on the talks, which have been closely held. The White House and Mr. Boehner's office have confirmed that the two men met over the weekend but have disclosed no details about the negotiations. Generally speaking, veterans of congressional negotiations say that such public pronouncements usually don't bode well for the progress of talks behind closed doors.
Budget negotiations between the White House and House Speaker Boehner have progressed steadily, breathing life into talks that appeared to have stalled. WSJ's Patrik O'Connor reports on the News Hub. Photo: Getty Images.
Mr. Boehner's comments came two days after he met with Mr. Obama at the White House, which the speaker said was "a nice meeting, it was cordial.''
A follow-up meeting Monday between White House and Boehner aides was less productive, an official familiar with the session said. Still, Mr. Boehner said in his speech, "I think the members know I'm an optimist. I'm hopeful we can reach an agreement.''
[h=3]Make Your Own Deficit-Reduction Plan[/h]Try your hand at balancing the budget and share the results.
[h=3]Falling Over the Fiscal Cliff[/h]See some scenarios for how different groups of people may be affected by the tax changes that will take place if the fiscal cliff isn't resolved by the Jan. 1., 2013, deadline.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D. Calif.), responded in a floor speech that she was glad Mr. Boehner brought the fiscal-cliff debate before the full House and reiterated Democratic demands that any spending cuts in the deal "not hurt the middle class.''
She also expressed optimism that a deal could be struck.
"I don't think there is any reason for us not to come to the table to make an agreement,'' Mrs. Pelosi said. "Every day that we can remove all doubt about the full faith and credit of the United States of America…is a good day."
APHouse Speaker John Boehner, shown walking to the House floor Tuesday, said the White House plan would exacerbate the U.S.'s problems.
Responding to Mr. Boehner's call for more detailed spending-cut proposals, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer suggested on Twitter that it was the GOP that needed to make a better offer on spending cuts.
"The irony of this is that the White House offer had very specific cuts, the GOP counteroffer has almost none," Mr. Pfeiffer said.
For several weeks, the White House and Republican leaders have sparred over how to deal with expiring tax breaks and mandatory spending cuts set to begin in January. The White House and Republicans have proposed replacing these changes, known as the fiscal cliff, with other policies but have remained divided on how best to do that. Republicans want more spending cuts than Democrats will accept, and Democrats have proposed more tax increases than Republicans will accept.
In past weeks, posturing focused mainly on which changes should be made to tax policy. Last week, leaders debated how to handle the U.S. borrowing limit.
In a brief speech broadcast by CSPAN as the House opened its daily session, Mr. Boehner said, "We are still waiting for the White House to identify what specific cuts the president is willing to make.''
"Where are the president's spending cuts?'' Mr. Boehner asked. "The longer the White House slow walks this process, the closer our economy gets to the fiscal cliff.''
It was an unusually public forum for a report on the talks, which have been closely held. The White House and Mr. Boehner's office have confirmed that the two men met over the weekend but have disclosed no details about the negotiations. Generally speaking, veterans of congressional negotiations say that such public pronouncements usually don't bode well for the progress of talks behind closed doors.
Budget negotiations between the White House and House Speaker Boehner have progressed steadily, breathing life into talks that appeared to have stalled. WSJ's Patrik O'Connor reports on the News Hub. Photo: Getty Images.
Mr. Boehner's comments came two days after he met with Mr. Obama at the White House, which the speaker said was "a nice meeting, it was cordial.''
A follow-up meeting Monday between White House and Boehner aides was less productive, an official familiar with the session said. Still, Mr. Boehner said in his speech, "I think the members know I'm an optimist. I'm hopeful we can reach an agreement.''
[h=3]Make Your Own Deficit-Reduction Plan[/h]Try your hand at balancing the budget and share the results.
[h=3]Falling Over the Fiscal Cliff[/h]See some scenarios for how different groups of people may be affected by the tax changes that will take place if the fiscal cliff isn't resolved by the Jan. 1., 2013, deadline.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D. Calif.), responded in a floor speech that she was glad Mr. Boehner brought the fiscal-cliff debate before the full House and reiterated Democratic demands that any spending cuts in the deal "not hurt the middle class.''
She also expressed optimism that a deal could be struck.
"I don't think there is any reason for us not to come to the table to make an agreement,'' Mrs. Pelosi said. "Every day that we can remove all doubt about the full faith and credit of the United States of America…is a good day."
APHouse Speaker John Boehner, shown walking to the House floor Tuesday, said the White House plan would exacerbate the U.S.'s problems.
Responding to Mr. Boehner's call for more detailed spending-cut proposals, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer suggested on Twitter that it was the GOP that needed to make a better offer on spending cuts.
"The irony of this is that the White House offer had very specific cuts, the GOP counteroffer has almost none," Mr. Pfeiffer said.
For several weeks, the White House and Republican leaders have sparred over how to deal with expiring tax breaks and mandatory spending cuts set to begin in January. The White House and Republicans have proposed replacing these changes, known as the fiscal cliff, with other policies but have remained divided on how best to do that. Republicans want more spending cuts than Democrats will accept, and Democrats have proposed more tax increases than Republicans will accept.
In past weeks, posturing focused mainly on which changes should be made to tax policy. Last week, leaders debated how to handle the U.S. borrowing limit.