Washington: One day after a bruising, mixed-verdict election, President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner both pledged on Wednesday to seek a compromise to avert looming spending cuts and tax increases that threaten to plunge the economy back into recession. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev said "Of course" an agreement is possible.
While all three men spoke in general terms, Boehner stressed that Republicans would be willing to accept higher tax revenue under the right conditions as part of a more sweeping attempt to reduce deficits and restore the economy to full health. While the impending "fiscal cliff" dominates the post-election agenda, the president and Republicans have other concerns, too.
Obama is looking ahead to top-level personnel changes in a second term, involving three powerful Cabinet portfolios at a minimum. And Republicans are heading into a season of potentially painful reflection after losing the presidency in an economy that might have proved Obama's political undoing. They also have fallen deeper into the Senate minority after the second election in a row in which they lost potentially winnable races by fielding candidates with views that voters evidently judged too extreme.
One major topic for GOP discussion: the changing face of America. "We've got to deal with the issue of immigration through good policy. What is the right policy if we want economic growth in America as it relates to immigration?" said former Republican Party Chairman Haley Barbour. Obama drew support from about 70 per cent
07:09 AM, Nov 08, 2012
Washington: The fight over the debt ceiling has turned into a dramatic leadership test for President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, opponents in a divided government who've gone from negotiating in secret to facing off in public at a watershed moment for the country and their own political careers. As the standoff enters its uncertain endgame, it's unclear which of them will come out ahead - or if...
05:23 PM, Jul 30, 2011
Washington: US President Barack Obama on Friday called for a compromise to resolve the debt limit crisis. Obama said that a bill put forward by House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner "does not solve the problem." "What's clear now is that any solution to avoid default must be bipartisan," he said at the White House. ...
08:21 PM, Jul 29, 2011
Washington: An intense endgame at hand, House Republican leaders put off a vote on Thursday night on legislation to avert a threatened government default and slice federal spending by nearly $1 trillion. GOP leaders announced their decision after abruptly halting debate on the legislation and plunging into an intensive round of meetings with rebellious conservatives. The decision created fresh turmoil as a divided government struggled to head off a default...
08:17 AM, Jul 29, 2011
Washington: President Barack Obama and Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner teamed up in a golf match on Saturday to try to build a friendlier climate for troubled talks on the US debt and deficits. In a game won on the 18th hole, Obama, a Democrat, and Boehner beat Vice President Joe Biden and Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich on a course at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, just...
10:08 AM, Jun 19, 2011
Washington: Republicans and Democrats on Thursday derided President Barack Obama's claim that US air attacks against Libya do not constitute hostilities and demanded that the commander in chief seek congressional approval for the 3-month-old military operation. In an escalating constitutional fight, House Speaker John Boehner threatened to withhold money for the mission, pitting a Congress eager to exercise its power of the purse against a dug-in White House. The Ohio...
07:12 AM, Jun 17, 2011
