WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pushed Republicans on Sunday to offer specific ideas to cut the deficit, and predicted that they would agree to raise tax rates on the rich to obtain a year-end deal and avoid possible economic doom.

But the top U.S. Republican, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner, stood firm and renewed his stand against increased tax rates, leaving talks at a stalemate.

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama’s
top fiscal negotiator pushed Republicans on Sunday to offer
specific ideas to cut the deficit, and predicted they would
agree to raise tax rates on the rich to obtain a year-end deal
to avoid economic doom.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said it is up to
Republicans if the U.S. goes over the “fiscal cliff,” a
combination of automatic spending cuts and across-the-board tax
hikes that could plunge the country into a recession.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday announced a longshot bid to force an early vote on tax hikes to break the stalemate in negotiations over the year-end “fiscal cliff.”

The Democratic plan, which Senate Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said could begin on Tuesday, involves getting a majority of the Republican-controlled House to sign a petition scheduling a vote over the objection of the Republican leadership.

WASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Democrats in the U.S. House
of Representatives on Friday announced a longshot bid to force
an early vote on tax hikes to break the stalemate in
negotiations over the year-end “fiscal cliff.”

The Democratic plan, which Senate Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi said could begin on Tuesday, involves getting a majority
of the Republican-controlled House to sign a petition scheduling
a vote over the objection of the Republican leadership.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A small but growing number of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives believe tax hikes on the rich like those favored by President Barack Obama will be part of a final deal to resolve the so-called fiscal cliff.

“I wouldn’t have a problem with letting those tax rates go up,” provided they are coupled with spending cuts, Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho told Reuters Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a U.S. Congress packed with big egos, Tom Cole keeps a low profile but isn’t afraid to speak his mind.

He did so on Wednesday, breaking ranks with Republicans by suggesting that they agree to President Barack Obama’s plans to extend Bush-era tax rates on all but the wealthiest Americans.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican unity against raising tax rates for the wealthy started showing cracks as a conservative congressman said he would back an agreement with President Barack Obama to raise rates on the rich but extend tax cuts for income below $250,000.

With Congress scrambling to forge an agreement to avoid a package of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to kick in at the end of the year – known as the “fiscal cliff” – Congressman Tom Cole said Republicans should accept a that guarantees 98 percent of Americans would not suffer a tax increase that endangers the economic recovery.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Dick Durbin, a senior Senate Democrat and close ally of President Barack Obama, urged fellow liberals on Tuesday to consider reforming Medicare and Medicaid, the U.S. healthcare programs they have long fought to shield from spending cuts.

The timing of his message – just as Democrats and Republicans struggling to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” looming early next year – and its prominence may signal that Democratic leaders and the White House will discuss social programs at the fiscal policy negotiating table.

By Thomas Ferraro and Jeff Mason

(Reuters) – The Congress advanced by inches on Tuesday toward compromise on taxes and spending, but a firm deal to avert the “fiscal cliff” at the end of the year still seemed miles away, despite growing pressure from business interests for action.

President Barack Obama was set to hold meetings with business leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday and then travel to a factory in Pennsylvania on Friday to press his case on taxes.

By Thomas Ferraro and Jeff Mason

(Reuters) – The U.S. Congress advanced by inches on Tuesday toward compromise on taxes and spending, but a firm deal to avert the “fiscal cliff” at the end of the year still seemed miles away, despite growing pressure from business interests for action.

President Barack Obama was set to hold meetings with business leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday and then travel to a factory in Pennsylvania on Friday to press his case on taxes.