Just days shy of the New Year, members of Congress and the White House are hoping to strike a last-minute bargain to avoid across-the-board tax increases and deep spending cuts. Congressional leaders are meeting Friday with President Obama, although there are no signs a compromise deal is taking shape to avoid going off the fiscal cliff January 1st.
Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky accused the president of campaigning even after he was re-elected, and he accused Democrats of "sitting on their hands."
"Republicans bent over backwards. We stepped way out of our comfort zone," said McConnell. "But we had no takers. The phone never rang. And so now, here we are, five days from the New Year, and we might finally start talking.
The GOP has rejected a plan by Senate Democrats to raise taxes on incomes above $200,000. Last week, House Republicans rejected a plan by Speaker John Boehner to raise taxes only on those making more than a million dollars a year.
