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Will White House meeting produce 'fiscal' results?

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    Ed Henry reports from the White House

  • Duration 4:33
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Good evening everyone I'm -- Mattel -- for Brett -- moments ago as you saw.

The president gave a press conference with just three days until the fiscal cliff about the latest White House meeting with congressional leaders saying it was indeed constructed.

We do have a live fox team coverage Mike Emanuel looks at the action in congress today but first chief White House correspondent Ed Henry.

Is in the briefing room where the president just spoke let's go to first at -- Just heard the president himself pleading with Republicans and Democrats on the hill -- in his words at least meet this one deadline saying that the grand bargain in the four trillion dollar debt deal is now four out of reach but he thinks they can at least do -- modest package to prevent.

Everyone's taxes from going up but at the end of the year but I would note that he made very clear that this was only a possible agreement he said he was only modestly optimistic.

As senate leaders right now start work on -- just trying to scramble to put together some sort of a deal with -- -- Our timing this week we're out of time we got to do -- now let's -- -- the next 24 hours.

We'll be very important.

With the nation on the verge of the largest tax increase since World War II.

President Obama called congressional leaders to the White House for one last desperate shot -- -- deal.

And wool Democrat Max Baucus said he finally sees a slimmed down agreements starting to gel.

Because the pressure on all sides is red hot.

Some Republicans believe the meeting with the president is really just for show.

When the president calls congressional leaders of the White House this all political theater -- they've got to deal.

Not that it's all political theater.

Democrats insist the president tried for weeks to get an agreement on plan -- -- four trillion dollar debt deal that after the failure of speaker John Boehner plan -- mr.

Obama has taken the initiative to bring plan -- to the meeting today.

Well this is not for show this is a last ditch effort job by the president to bring the congressional leaders together to try and -- At least a small package small deal together.

Before the new year to avoid some of the tax parts.

Of the fiscal cliff and the deal with some of the unemployment.

-- Issues that package first unveiled by the president last Friday before he left for Hawaii is a slimmed down bill it would focus on three key areas keeping tax cuts only for those making 250000.

Dollars a year or less.

Extending unemployment benefits and with the clock ticking it would delay dramatic spending cuts until later next year.

-- -- leaders of congress to work towards a package that prevents a tax hike on middle class Americans.

For tax unemployment insurance for two million Americans.

And lays the ground work for further work on both growth and deficit reduction.

That's an achievable goal.

At today's meeting of all four of the top congressional leaders is their first with the president since November 16 a sign for Republicans that mr.

Obama has not really been pushing that hard for a deal we need to words presidential leadership on not just.

Taxing rich people.

Three words the president did not use he did not use the -- sequester and he didn't say debt ceiling either.

That while he focused most of his remarks is a moment ago.

On preventing taxes from going up we can't forget -- also these massive spending cuts that are coming there's no idea yet how they're gonna avert that he also did not mention the debt ceiling earlier these negotiations the White House wanted lifting the nation's debt ceiling included.

Now it's very clear that will not be in this short term packaged.

Which which guarantees -- even if they get a short term deal here Doug we've got some major budget battles coming in the new year.

They had -- any good negotiation is that each side has to give up something that is near and dear to their heart what is it is physically you can possibly.

Imagine both sides have given up here well look at the White House would say that the president started at the threshold on tax cuts of 250000.

It is negotiation -- speaker Boehner he moved up to 400000 obviously not enough for Boehner.

He wanted it to be a million dollars or more but that's something that can be worked out and in terms of spending cuts you don't Republicans certainly wanna see more sacrifice from the president what they had wanted to see in these talks.

Would be not just smalls a -- a small amount of spending cuts to shut off the sequester in the short term.

The Republicans want -- major entitlement reform.

Medicare cuts big big changes that's nowhere to be found in this -- -- and that's going to be a major bone of contention no matter what happens the next three or four days.

Medicare reform the entitlement changes next year big battle of America which also suggest that the Democrats are are steering the -- here.

All right Ed thank you very much it's.

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