No deal: GOP, Democrats trade barbs as clock ticks down on ‘fiscal cliff’

President Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner offered no outward signs of progress Tuesday on talks to reach a year-end agreement on taxes and spending, with the House Republican leader accusing the president of “slow walking” negotiations and the White House criticizing Republican proposals to raise tax revenue as too vague.

Less than three weeks before the government hits a Jan. 1 deadline for automatic tax hikes and steep spending cuts, Mr. Obama found himself under increasing pressure from his liberal base to spare entitlement programs from any cuts.

Republican lawmakers say curbing entitlement spending must be a part of a deal to avert the “fiscal cliff.”

As the White House and Congress traded accusations, business leaders emphasized the importance of Washington reaching an agreement to prevent the fragile economy from falling into another recession.

The Business Roundtable, the nation’s largest group of CEOs, on Tuesday urged Mr. Obama and Mr. Boehner to “step forward” and prevent a harsh blow to the economy.

“The United States will suffer significant negative economic, employment, and social consequences for going over the fiscal cliff,” the group said in a letter. “In many cases, the damage will be long-lasting, if not permanent. But it does not have to happen.”

The accusations between the speaker and the administration appeared to be a step backward, after Mr. Boehner and Mr. Obama held a secret meeting at the White House on Sunday that raised hopes of a deal.

The president instead followed up that meeting by holding a partisan, campaign-style rally Monday with unionized auto workers near Detroit to complain that House Republicans are blocking tax relief for the middle class.

Mr. Boehner responded with his own salvo Tuesday on the House floor, calling on Mr. Obama to “get serious” in their negotiations.

“Where are the president’s spending cuts?”’ Mr. Boehner asked. “The longer the White House slow walks this process, the closer our economy gets to the fiscal cliff.”

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the president has offered detailed spending cuts, “unlike any other party to these negotiations.”

“What we haven’t seen from Republicans to this day is a single specific proposal on revenue,” Mr. Carney said.

Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, raised the pressure on Mr. Obama not to touch entitlement programs such as Medicaid as part of any agreement.

“Any cut in Medicaid will be felt by our most vulnerable,” said Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, Maryland Democrat. “We can’t let that happen. That’s what’s at stake here.”

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia Democrat, said he feels “no obligation” to support Medicaid cuts to avert the fiscal cliff.

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