Washington Update: Republicans fail to support Boehner’s latest fiscal cliff proposal

As the final week before the Christmas holdays comes to a close, Congress seems no closer to an agreement that could avoid the fiscal cliff.

At the end of a week of high-stakes negotiations between President Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner, the Speaker’s efforts to push forward an alternative taxation and budget proposal ran into trouble when conservatives in the House Republican caucus made it clear Thursday evening that they would not support the Speaker’s proposal. Boehner's "Plan B" proposal had included a tax increase for anyone earning more than $1 million, interpreted by some in the GOP as a concession to the party's "no new taxes" stance during the sequestration talks.

Although Congress has the opportunity to meet during the few days between Christmas and New Year’s Day, many legislation-watchers had hoped Congress would be able to settle the debate by today, just 11 days of the Jan. 1, 2013 deadline which would trigger $500 billion is automatic cuts and taxes overall, including some $11 billion slated as Medicare cuts.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.