WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- The White House said U.S. President Barack Obama will meet congressional leaders from both parties on Friday to seek a last-minute agreement on avoiding the "fiscal cliff."
The White House said Obama will host the bipartisan leadership of the Congress at the White House in the afternoon. He will be joined by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Obama cut short of his vacation in Hawaii and arrived back at the White House on Thursday, with the hope of reviving the stalled fiscal negotiations. He called the congressional leaders on Wednesday evening on the status of the talks.
With the Senate returning to session Thursday, Reid said he was not sure whether there would be enough time for the two parties to reach a deal before the new year deadline. He charged that Boehner cared more about his speakership than keeping the nation on firm financial footing.
At a conference call on Thursday, Boehner notified lawmakers to be prepared for a session on Sunday night. He reiterated that the Senate should act first and send a bill to the House.
As time is running out to avert the year-end "fiscal cliff," a combination of massive tax hikes and spending cuts that will affect nearly every U.S. family and tip the economy into recession, there is still no deal in sight.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday urged Congress Republicans to come up with a plan that both chambers of the legislature could pass, so as to avert the impending "fiscal cliff."
Going over the "fiscal cliff" seemed like "where we're headed," the top Democratic senator on Thursday said in a Senate floor speech. Full story
BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- In the US, there are just a few days to go until the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax rises and spending cuts come into force, triggered by the national deficit.
As lawmakers try to find a way of postponing the tax hikes that would affect all US earners, President Barack Obama has cut short his Christmas break to return to Washington. Full story
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