*Fiscal Cliff
“I think President Obama has made it very clear that he has been willing to move. He has moved both on revenues and on cuts and spending. But he has not met with any kind of positive response to this point in time. I think Speaker [John] Boehner wants to get a deal. Whatever happened last night it did not eliminate the risk that the cliff causes our economy, and our people. It's incumbent upon us, therefore, to continue to work towards a solution and to reach a solution prior to the end of the year.”
“We still need to focus on not going over the cliff. Not going over the cliff is I think a priority for us. That's not good for the country, not good for the economy, not good for the confidence of the American people.”
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) discussed Republicans' failed 'Plan B' and the need for a balanced solution to the fiscal cliff tonight on MSNBC and Bloomberg TV. See below for excerpts of the interviews and links to the videos.
It is now time to get back to work on negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff. We cannot allow the fiscal cliff to hit, risking damage to our economy and middle class families, and another downgrade of our credit worthiness. I urge Speaker Boehner and Republican leaders to rise above the politics of the moment and re-engage in the process of reaching a big and balanced plan. I believe we can and must take action before the end of the year to prevent the fiscal cliff, and Democrats are ready to work with Republicans to do so.
According to POLITICO, Majority Leader Eric Cantor said “We intend to avoid the fiscal cliff.”
But as we started a Google search, it turned up something much closer to the truth:
A Christmas classic about to go terribly wrong: it’s time for House Republicans to hear the music and get back to negotiating a bipartisan, balanced solution.
A CNN/ORC poll out today shows that the majority of Americans find the GOP too extreme and believe they should compromise more.
So, what are House Republicans doing today? Wasting time on a political exercise instead of negotiating on a compromise to avert the fiscal cliff. Way to go team.
A look at the morning news shows Speaker Boehner is having a tough time finding the votes he needs for his “Plan B”… or rather Plan C or D, or whatever we’re up to at this point.
Politico: “The talks are stalled, and Boehner is scrambling to muscle his own bill through the House — a proposal the president has already promised to veto.”
“Clearly, the Republicans know that what they are doing today is simply a waste of time… What we’re doing today is wasting time pretending, making political points but not moving the ball forward to get to a compromise that will be necessary if we're going to avoid the sequester that nobody wants, not go over the cliff, and take very positive steps toward getting this country on a fiscally sound path.”
"I continue to be encouraged by positive signs of negotiation between the President and the Speaker. However, Speaker Boehner’s decision today to schedule a partisan vote on a ‘plan B’ is not helpful. America needs a big and balanced plan to reduce our debt, not more hollow political votes. While it is a good sign that talks continue, we need to keep the focus on negotiations to move the country forward.