In a blunt challenge to Republicans in Congress, President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that elimination of selected tax breaks for oil companies and the super-wealthy must be included in any deficit reduction plan.
"You stay here. Let's get it done," he all-but-lectured lawmakers, holding open the possibility of keeping Congress in Washington unless there is significant progress by week's end on a deal to cut deficits, raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit and avert a threatened financial crisis.
He said a plan must be in place by Aug. 2, a date he called "a hard deadline."
Obama drew a swift rebuttal from House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who issued a statement saying, "The president is sorely mistaken if he believes a bill to raise the debt ceiling and raise taxes would pass the House. The votes simply aren't there - and they aren't going to be there, because the American people know tax hikes destroy jobs."
source:msn.com