There are conflicting reports about whether President Obama is making a last minute, specific offer to Senate Republicans to avert the fiscal cliff crisis.
One Republican lawmaker says Obama has finally made his “first such proposal” to GOP leaders. But news outlets are citing White House officials knocking that down.
“Heading back to dc,” Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday. “Just learned that the Pres. reached out to Senate GOP leadership with a proposal. It is the first such proposal to be put forth.”
A spokesman for Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell was mum in response to a question from The Daily Caller about whether such an offer from Obama exists.
“While we’re expecting Democrats to finally act, I don’t have a specific timeframe,” spokesman Don Stewart said in an email.
CNN on Thursday also cited two Capitol Hill sources saying Obama told McConnell that he’s sending Congress a “scaled back fiscal cliff measure.”
But according to other news outlets, that report is wrong. NBC cited a senior White House official saying: “There is no proposal being sent up today. Scott Brown is wrong.”
A White House spokesman didn’t immediately return a request for comment from TheDC.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday expressed pessimism that a deal would be struck between Obama and Republicans, saying during remarks on the Senate floor that it “looks like” the country is going over the fiscal cliff.
In just five days, automatic tax increases and spending cuts are set to take place if a deal isn’t made.