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Boehner: 'We'll Continue To Work' On Avoiding Fiscal Cliff

By Mark Memmott
Published December 21, 2012 at 7:53 AM MST

On this morning after he couldn't get fellow Republicans to support his "Plan B" for avoiding the year end "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and spending cuts, House Speaker John Boehner took some questions from reporters.

We listened in and posted updates. Hit your "refresh" button to see our latest additions:

-- Update at 10:12 a.m. ET. House Will Come Back "If We're Needed":

Asked about the recess the House is going on, Boehner says lawmakers "will come back if we're needed" during the Christmas break.

The news conference ended moments later.

-- Update at 10:08 a.m. ET. He And The President Laid Out Their "Bottom Lines":

Boehner says that on Monday "I told the president, 'these are my bottom lines' " [ reportedly, $1 trillion in new revenues and $1 trillion in spending cuts]. Obama, he says, responded that the administration's bottom lines were $1.3 trillion in revenue (tax) increases and $850 billion in spending cuts.

-- Update at 10:04 a.m. ET. "We Only Run The House":

Saying that "we only run the House, Democrats continue to run Washington," Boehner lays the burden of responsibility for avoiding year-end tax increases and automatic spending cuts on the other party. But, he adds, "we'll continue to work with our colleagues in the House and the Senate."

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NPR News Fiscal CliffJohn BoehnerCongressPresident Barack Obama
Mark Memmott
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
See stories by Mark Memmott
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