reporter: just two days before he meets with congressional leaders, the president took a tougher tone on budget talks. in his news conference, he pushed hard for an immediate extension of tax cuts for everyone making less than $250,000 a year. and by the way, that means every american, including the wealthiest americans get a tax cut. it means that 98% of all americans, and 97% of all small businesses won t see their taxes go up a single dime. the senate has already passed a law like this. democrats in the house are ready to pass a law like this and i hope republicans in the house come on board too. reporter: republicans said again they would be willing to raise more tax revenue by closing loopholes or limiting deductions. but those revenues had to be matched with cuts in entitlement programs. until you make our entitlement programs fit the future demographic of country, the demographics of our country, you can t possibly solve our long term debt and deficit problems.
congressional leaders, the president took a tougher tone on budget talks. in his news conference, he pushed hard for an immediate extension of tax cuts for everyone making less than $250,000 a year. and by the way, that means every american, including the wealthiest americans get a tax cut. it means that 98% of all americans, and 97% of all small businesses won t see their taxes go up a single dime. the senate has already passed a law like this. democrats in the house are ready to pass a law like this and i hope republicans in the house come on board too. reporter: republicans said again they would be willing to raise more tax revenue by closing loopholes or limiting deductions. but those revenues had to be matched with cuts in entitlement programs. until you make our entitlement programs fit the future demographic of country, the demographics of our country, you can t possibly solve our long term debt and deficit problems. reporter: the president did rule out some id
president obama and congress to agree on avoiding a combination of higher taxes and government spending cuts, the president today said he won t extend tax cuts for people who don t need them. that hard line came during a white house press conference just as a negotiations with republican leaders get underway to avoid the fiscal cliff. as darren gersh reports from washington, even before republicans and democrats sit down to talk on friday, both sides are laying down markers. reporter: just two days before he meets with congressional leaders, the president took a tougher tone on budget talks. in his news conference, he pushed hard for an immediate extension of tax cuts for everyone making less than $250,000 a year. and by the way, that means every american, including the wealthiest americans get a tax cut. it means that 98% of all americans, and 97% of all small businesses won t see their taxes go up a single dime. the senate has already passed a law like this. democrats i
tom: with 47 days left for president obama and congress to agree on avoiding a combination of higher taxes and government spending cuts, the president today said he won t extend tax cuts for people who don t need them. that hard line came during a white house press conference just as a negotiations with republican leaders get underway to avoid the fiscal cliff. as darren gersh reports from washington, even before republicans and democrats sit down to talk on friday, both sides are laying down markers. reporter: just two days before he meets with congressional leaders, the president took a tougher tone on budget talks. in his news conference, he pushed hard for an immediate extension of tax cuts for everyone making less than $250,000 a year. and by the way, that means every american, inuding the wealthiest americans get a tax cut. it means that 98% of all americans, and 97% of all small businesses won t see their taxes go up a single dime. the senate has already passed a
that hardly ever happens and it reflects the new post-election mood of cooperation. house speaker john boehner called the meeting very constructive. i outlined a framework that deals with reforming our tax code and reforming our spending. and i believe the framework that i ve outlined in our meeting today is consistent with the president s call for a fair and balanced approach. reporter: to republican leaders balance means some higher tax revenues are paired with reductions in spending and changes in entitlement programs. that s a challenge for democrats, but the president seemed willing to move in that direction. our challenge is to make sure that we are able to cooperate together, work together, find some common ground, make some tough compromises, build some consensus to do the peoples business. and what folks are looking for and i think all of us agree on this is action. reporter: speaker pelosi suggested the leaders agree on milestones that will bolster the eco