WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Obama presented his plan to avoid the fiscal cliff to members of Congress Thursday. And now he's taking it on the road to drum up public support.
President Obama leaves the White House this morning to head to a toy factory in Pennsylvania. He'll tell Americans that the so-called fiscal cliff will cause holiday shopping to plummet.
"Let us a give a Christmas present to the American people," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the House Minority Leader.
But the mood here on Capitol Hill is anything but festive. Both sides say the tax hikes and spending cuts due to kick in at year end are unacceptable. They just don't believe each other.
"Members of his own party seem quite comfortable sending the economy over the fiscal cliff," charges Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), the Speaker of the House.
The president sent Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to the Hill Thursday with his $4-trillion plan.
It includes:
*$1.6 trillion in new taxes on upper income Americans,
*$400 billion in cuts to medicare and other entitlement programs.
And $50 billion in new spending on infrastructure and unemployment benefits
The biggest stumbling block remains the new taxes on the wealthiest Americans. While some Republicans here in Congress are hinting they might be open to the idea...the majority still seems adamantly opposed.
"Raising rates is because raising rates on the so-called rich is the holy grail of liberalism. The holy grail of liberalism. Their aim isn't job creation. They're interested in wealth destruction," claims Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Senate Minority Leader.
The White House insists the president wont' sign any bill that does not Include higher taxes for top earners.
"This should not be news to anyone on Capitol Hill," says White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
The White House called the proposal an opening bid. Republicans called it a joke.
The president's proposal also included a permanent solution to automatically increase the debt ceiling. Republicans say that's a non-starter for them.
(Susan McGinnis, CBS News)
President Obama leaves the White House this morning to head to a toy factory in Pennsylvania. He'll tell Americans that the so-called fiscal cliff will cause holiday shopping to plummet.
"Let us a give a Christmas present to the American people," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the House Minority Leader.
But the mood here on Capitol Hill is anything but festive. Both sides say the tax hikes and spending cuts due to kick in at year end are unacceptable. They just don't believe each other.
"Members of his own party seem quite comfortable sending the economy over the fiscal cliff," charges Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), the Speaker of the House.
The president sent Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to the Hill Thursday with his $4-trillion plan.
It includes:
*$1.6 trillion in new taxes on upper income Americans,
*$400 billion in cuts to medicare and other entitlement programs.
And $50 billion in new spending on infrastructure and unemployment benefits
The biggest stumbling block remains the new taxes on the wealthiest Americans. While some Republicans here in Congress are hinting they might be open to the idea...the majority still seems adamantly opposed.
"Raising rates is because raising rates on the so-called rich is the holy grail of liberalism. The holy grail of liberalism. Their aim isn't job creation. They're interested in wealth destruction," claims Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Senate Minority Leader.
The White House insists the president wont' sign any bill that does not Include higher taxes for top earners.
"This should not be news to anyone on Capitol Hill," says White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
The White House called the proposal an opening bid. Republicans called it a joke.
The president's proposal also included a permanent solution to automatically increase the debt ceiling. Republicans say that's a non-starter for them.
(Susan McGinnis, CBS News)
