Speaker of the House John Boehner delivered a direct message to President Barack Obama after Obama’s victory in the election: “This is your moment” and “we want you to succeed.”
“If there’s a mandate in yesterday’s [election] results it’s a mandate for us to find a way to work together on the solutions to the challenges that we all face as a nation,” Boehner said in a speech at the Capitol on Wednesday.
These challenges, Boehner said, include the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts at the end of the year, automatic defense spending cuts, the debt limit increase and the expiration of the continuing resolution that’s keeping the government running without a formal budget.
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He insisted that House Republicans are willing to work with the president to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.”
“Mr. President, this is your moment,” Boehner said. “We’re ready to be led not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans. We want you to lead not as a liberal or a conservative, but as the president of the United States of America. We want you to succeed. Let’s challenge ourselves to find the common ground that has eluded us.”
Boehner still rejects the position of Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who want to raise the top tax rate, arguing that this would hurt small businesses.
However, he said Republicans are open to raising revenue by reforming the tax code with the help of Obama.
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