WASHINGTON • President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner pushed ahead on negotiating a broad deal to avert the "fiscal cliff," even as the GOP leader readied a backup plan Tuesday to pressure the White House with little time left to avoid a double hit on the economy.
With exactly two weeks to automatic tax hikes and spending cuts, Boehner offered a measure, dubbed "plan B," that would cancel tax increases due to take effect Jan. 1 on everyone earning $1 million or less, while allowing tax increases on those earning more than that amount.
Boehner insisted that his plan would address the burgeoning deficits and that the president has failed to produce a balance plan in weeks of post-election negotiations.
But the speaker’s alternative was a non-starter with the White House and Democrats, and perhaps more damaging to its prospects, got a frosty reception from rank-and-file House Republicans in a morning closed-door meeting.
"The president is willing to continue to work with Republicans to reach a bipartisan solution that averts the fiscal cliff, protects the middle class, helps the economy, and puts our nation on a fiscally sustainable path," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "But he is not willing to accept a deal that doesn’t ask enough of the very wealthiest in taxes and instead shifts the burden to the middle class and seniors."
Even as he offered his alternative plan, Boehner indicated that negotiations with Obama continue on avoiding the fiscal cliff. Economists inside and outside the government have warned that the combination of spending cuts and tax hikes could stall a weak recovery and threaten a new recession.
"I continue to have hope that we can reach a broader agreement with the White House" that would cancel the tax increases and spending cuts now poised to begin in early January, Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters.
But he said when it comes to offering a package that balances tax increases with spending cuts, "The president is not there yet."
Boehner presented his alternative to his GOP caucus, which reacted coolly to any plan that includes an increase in the tax rate. Conservatives and tea partyers signaled that Boehner faces a tough time rounding up the votes.
"I think it’s a terrible idea," said Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho. "For a lot of reasons."
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When asked whether there was enough support among fellow Republicans to pass it, Labrador said, "I do not."
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said he is in favor of preventing tax hikes for as many taxpayers as possible, but he’s not ready to support Boehner’s plan.
"I didn’t see enough specificity to support it," Chaffetz said.
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the outgoing chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said, "I’m not doing cartwheels over it, that’s for sure."
Jordan said Boehner’s plan crosses a dangerous line by enacting higher tax rates for anyone.
"I think it’s a mistake for the Republican Party, so that’s what I think a lot of members are struggling with," said the Ohio Republican.
In the Senate, Democratic Leader Harry Reid said the Boehner plan could not pass and urged the speaker to work out an agreement with the president.
"Now is the time to show leadership, not kick the can down the road," Reid said. "Speaker Boehner should focus his energy on forging a large-scale deficit reduction agreement. It would be a shame if Republicans abandoned productive negotiations due to pressure from the tea party, as they have time and again."
In addition to allowing a tax increase for million-dollar earners, the Boehner plan would prevent an expansion of the alternative minimum tax that would otherwise hit 28 million middle- and upper-class Americans with an average $3,700 increase on their 2012 tax returns.
The plan also would extend the current maximum 35 percent tax rate on inheritance, exempting the first $5 million. That tax rate is slated to rise to 55 percent on Jan. 1, with only a $1 million exemption.
Under the plan, the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts of $1.09 trillion to domestic and defense programs would go into effect.
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