Obama calls on Congress to pass tax bill

Obama said he spoke with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and asked them to put together a legislative package to extend the George W. Bush-era tax rates for those earning $250,000 or less.

"All of us, every single one of us, agree that tax rates shouldn't go up for the other 98% of Americans," Obama said, "Every member of Congress believes that."

The president's proposal has met with resistance from congressional Republicans who want to extend all of the current tax rates. Boehner tried and failed to pass a tax bill on the strength of GOP votes alone to extend rates on earners about $1 million. Obama's proposal will need a combination of Republican and Democratic votes to pass a divided Congress.

Obama said he also asked Congress to extend unemployment benefits affecting 2.1 million Americans and he charged leaders with coming up with a package that "lays the foundation" for economic growth and deficit reduction, suggesting broader work to reduce spending and overhaul the tax code will have to come in a multi-step process next year.

The president's remarks come as House Republicans were divided on their party's strategy to avert the "fiscal cliff" and as Boehner and Obama remain at a stalemate on a broader deficit reduction package to avoid the year-end collision of expiring tax rates and steep spending cuts that threaten the U.S. economic recovery.

Obama said he would continue to work with Congress, but that the tax bill should come first. "Let's get that done," he said

Earlier Friday, Boehner said he will continue looking for ways to resolve the "fiscal cliff" even after fellow Republicans rejected his proposed "Plan B."

Referring to Obama and the Democratic-run Senate, Boehner told reporters: "Republicans don't want taxes to go up. But we only run the House. Democrats continue to run Washington." USA Today./SR