FOXNews.com: Boehner: Failure to get 'serious' about spending cuts holding up budget deal

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Boehner: Failure to get 'serious' about spending cuts holding up budget deal Dec 13th 2012, 17:19 House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that talks over the looming fiscal crisis have failed to produce a deal because President Obama will not get "serious" about spending.  In a fresh bid to energize support for major entitlement cuts as part of any agreement, Boehner rolled out a chart that showed federal spending skyrocketing between now and 2041 -- to 40 percent of the nation's total economy.  The chart showed that revenue from Obama's push to increase taxes on the top 2 percent will only fill in a sliver of that amount.  "If you look at the spending problem, you see (the additional tax revenue) does nothing," Boehner said. "The president wants to pretend that spending isn't the problem. That's why we don't have an agreement."  The comments come amid increased pessimism on Capitol Hill about the prospects for a deal any time soon. Lawmakers are at loggerheads over whether to raise taxes on the top 2 percent -- but also Obama's call for unilateral power to increase the debt ceiling, and more stimulus spending.  A senior Democrat told Fox News that at a private dinner Wednesday night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confided to colleagues he now believes getting a deal by Christmas is almost impossible. In private, Reid suggested going off the so-called fiscal cliff is a real possibility -- but thinks a more likely scenario is that the House ends up passing the Senate bill to only extend rates for households making under $250,000. From there, both chambers would return in January to fight over spending cuts.  House Republican Leader Cantor is vowing that he and fellow Republicans will work through the holidays to reach a deal to avoid a roughly $500 billion mix of automatic tax increases and federal spending cuts that start on Jan. 1.  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had expressed hope for a deal before Christmas. And she made clear Wednesday that lawmakers should be home instead of on Capitol Hill by then.  "Faith and family, that's what the holidays are about," the California Democrat said during a news conference. "These are bonding opportunities for families and strengtheners for our families. We should be home for that."  The Democrats' and Republicans' remarks dampened the recent optimism in Washington that was created by a flurry of exchanges earlier this week between Boehner and President Obama -- a meeting Sunday, an Obama offer Monday, and Boehner's counter-offer Tuesday that was followed by another phone conversation.  Boehner refusal Tuesday night to talk about his counter-offer and the most recent phone call suggested a deal was within striking range, perhaps too delicate to fight over in public.  However, Boehner on Wednesday described the conversation as "deliberate" and focused on the divide they face.  Still, the debate in Washington was not exclusively about working over the break.  Boehner during a morning news conference also suggested Obama is holding up the deal, saying the White House's most recent proposal lacks a balanced approach of tax cuts and spending reductions.  He said the president's most recent offer still has "too many taxes" and could pass in neither the House nor the Senate.  "The longer the White House slow-walks this, the closer we get to a fiscal cliff," Boehner said after meeting with members of his leadership team. "I am the most optimistic person in town, but we have some differences."  Pelosi within hours put the blame on Boehner, insisting he make House Republicans vote on what Obama has already offered, and some of his party member appear willing to accept a compromise to help avert the fiscal crisis and extending tax cuts to 98 percent of income earners.  "Figure it out. We did," said Pelosi, referring to when she was House speaker and forced a full vote on funding the Iraq War. "Then go forward and debate the issue. ... What are we waiting for? Is there a dove going to fly in with a message tied to his leg?"

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