[h=3]By JARED A. FAVOLE And DAMIAN PALETTA[/h]WASHINGTON—The White House, escalating its effort to knock down a new Republican budget plan as it nears a crucial deadline, said Wednesday it would veto the current plan offered by House GOP leaders to raise tax rates only on income above $1 million.
The veto threat came as part of a four-page document from the White House that detailed a number of the Obama administration's objections to this new proposal from Speaker of the House John Boehner (R., Ohio). To illustrate the rapid-fire nature of the budget talks, the White House's analysis was released less than 24 hours after the House Republican plan, known as "Plan B," was offered.
"This approach does not meet the test of balance, and the president would veto the legislation in the unlikely event of its passage," White House Communication Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a statement. Mr. Pfeiffer said the GOP plan continues large tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and would cut off "a vital lifeline of unemployment assistance to 2 million Americans fighting to find a job just a few days after Christmas."
Mr. Boehner (R., Ohio) unveiled the plan Tuesday as a way to prevent taxes from going up in the event he and President Barack Obama can't strike a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. The speaker's plan would, among other things, allow tax rates to rise only for income over $1 million but has little chance of passing Congress.
Mr. Pfeiffer hinted at why the plan was unlikely to pass. "The deficit reduction is minimal, and perversely, given its authors, solely through tax increases with no spending cuts," he said.
A spokesman for Mr. Boehner, Brendan Buck, said the White House's opposition to the GOP "back-up" plan is "growing more bizarre and irrational by the day." He said: "In the absence of a 'balanced' solution from the president… we must act to stop taxes from rising across the board in 12 days."
Mr. Obama has threatened to veto a number of bills since becoming president, though has he only had to follow through on the threat a couple of times. His latest threat is more of a warning than a policy move, as a number of Democrats and Republicans are hopeful that lawmakers will settle their differences and reach an agreement before Christmas. Still, there are also a number of lawmakers from both parties that want to drag the fight into the final days of December and possibly into January.
Next month, roughly $500 billion in spending cuts and tax increases begin, an economic double-whammy known as the "fiscal cliff." Policy makers are trying to craft a package of budget changes that could be used to replace the fiscal cliff, but a number of differences remain.
For example, Mr. Obama has proposed raising tax rates on income above $400,000, which is lower than the threshold pushed by House Republicans. The White House and Republicans also disagree on the level of spending cuts that should be part of any plan.
The Plan B approach, seen by members of both parties as a way for Mr. Boehner to keep pressure on the president to make further concessions, comes two weeks before the nation is expected to reach the fiscal cliff.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Boehner are the lead negotiators on averting the fiscal cliff and have traded fresh proposals this week. Mr. Obama, for the first time since 2008, this week dropped his insistence that taxes go up on households making more $250,000 a year.
Write to Damian Paletta at [email protected]
The veto threat came as part of a four-page document from the White House that detailed a number of the Obama administration's objections to this new proposal from Speaker of the House John Boehner (R., Ohio). To illustrate the rapid-fire nature of the budget talks, the White House's analysis was released less than 24 hours after the House Republican plan, known as "Plan B," was offered.
"This approach does not meet the test of balance, and the president would veto the legislation in the unlikely event of its passage," White House Communication Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a statement. Mr. Pfeiffer said the GOP plan continues large tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and would cut off "a vital lifeline of unemployment assistance to 2 million Americans fighting to find a job just a few days after Christmas."
Mr. Boehner (R., Ohio) unveiled the plan Tuesday as a way to prevent taxes from going up in the event he and President Barack Obama can't strike a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. The speaker's plan would, among other things, allow tax rates to rise only for income over $1 million but has little chance of passing Congress.
Mr. Pfeiffer hinted at why the plan was unlikely to pass. "The deficit reduction is minimal, and perversely, given its authors, solely through tax increases with no spending cuts," he said.
A spokesman for Mr. Boehner, Brendan Buck, said the White House's opposition to the GOP "back-up" plan is "growing more bizarre and irrational by the day." He said: "In the absence of a 'balanced' solution from the president… we must act to stop taxes from rising across the board in 12 days."
Mr. Obama has threatened to veto a number of bills since becoming president, though has he only had to follow through on the threat a couple of times. His latest threat is more of a warning than a policy move, as a number of Democrats and Republicans are hopeful that lawmakers will settle their differences and reach an agreement before Christmas. Still, there are also a number of lawmakers from both parties that want to drag the fight into the final days of December and possibly into January.
Next month, roughly $500 billion in spending cuts and tax increases begin, an economic double-whammy known as the "fiscal cliff." Policy makers are trying to craft a package of budget changes that could be used to replace the fiscal cliff, but a number of differences remain.
For example, Mr. Obama has proposed raising tax rates on income above $400,000, which is lower than the threshold pushed by House Republicans. The White House and Republicans also disagree on the level of spending cuts that should be part of any plan.
The Plan B approach, seen by members of both parties as a way for Mr. Boehner to keep pressure on the president to make further concessions, comes two weeks before the nation is expected to reach the fiscal cliff.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Boehner are the lead negotiators on averting the fiscal cliff and have traded fresh proposals this week. Mr. Obama, for the first time since 2008, this week dropped his insistence that taxes go up on households making more $250,000 a year.
Write to Damian Paletta at [email protected]