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Obama to meet with top congressional Democrats and Republicans in bid to avert ‘fiscal cliff’
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
U.S. President Barack Obama has asked congressional leaders to convene Friday at the White House for last-minute talks on a “fiscal cliff” deal that avoids automatic tax increases and broad spending cuts that threaten the economy’s nascent recovery.
The development capped a day of growing urgency in which Obama returned early from a Hawaiian holiday and planned to meet with top members of Congress just four days before the government goes over the so-called fiscal cliff if no deal is reached.
The bitter partisan fight is over reining in deficit spending by raising taxes for some wealthy earners — the Democrats’ priority — and cutting some popular benefit programs, as demanded by Republicans.
As the Senate reconvened Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned that the U.S. appeared to be headed over the year-end “fiscal cliff” with no deal in sight. He also slammed House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner for not immediately reconvening the House. Boehner called the House back into session for a highly unusual Sunday evening session.
White House to host meeting
Friday’s meeting would be the first time Obama has huddled with all the leaders of Congress since November 16 and would represent that last hope for a deal before the year-end deadline. Obama spoke to each leader individually Wednesday.
Administration officials confirmed the Friday meeting at the White House in a bare-bones announcement that said the president would “host a meeting.”
