Politics
Obama calling for ‘tough compromises’ in fiscal cliff talks
U.S. President Barack Obama (r) shakes hands with Speaker of the House John Boehner (l) during a meeting with bipartisan group of congressional leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on November 16, 2012 in Washington, DC. PHOTO/Getty Images/Olivier Douliery
President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders vowed Friday to make difficult compromises on taxes and spending as they opened talks on dodging a looming fiscal cliff and trimming the US deficit.
With only weeks to avoid steep automatic budget cuts and tax hikes that could send the country back into recession, the leaders said they were seeking to map out a deal on long-term deficit reduction that included both higher revenues and lower spending.
Obama opened the talks, 10 days after his re-election victory, saying Americans “want to see that we are focused on them, not on the politics here in Washington.”
“Our challenge is to make sure that we’re able to cooperate together, work together, find some common ground, make some tough compromises, build some consensus to do the people’s business.”
Obama’s Republican opposite John Boehner, speaker of the House of Representatives, emerged from the initial session saying they had laid a framework for a deal that represented “a fair and balanced approach.”
“To show our seriousness, we’ve put revenue on the table. As long as it’s accompanied by significant spending cuts.”
Harry Reid, Democratic leader of the Senate, said the group was committed to reaching agreement after many months of deadlock.
