With the presidential seal in the background, President Obama pauses in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, where he spoke about how middle-class Americans would see their taxes go up if Congress fails to act to extend tax cuts. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, is pursued by reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, following a closed-door meeting with House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, arrives to speak to reporters after House Republicans voted for their leadership for the next session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, accompanied by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (left), Washington Republican, and other members of House GOP leadership, gestures as he speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Debt commission co-chairmen Erskine Bowles (left) and former Sen. Alan K. Simpson speak to the media after a meeting of the panel on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (right), accompanied by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (left) and House Speaker John A. Boehner, gestures as he speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington on Friday, Nov. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, speaks about the looming financial ... more >WASHINGTON (AP) — After meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, House Speaker John A. Boehner says Democrats still haven’t recommended cuts to government benefit programs as part of a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.
Boehner told reporters the meeting was frank and direct, but gave no indication of any progress toward averting the blend of tax increases and spending cuts due to hit at the turn of the year.
The Ohio Republican noted that the GOP has agreed to higher revenues as part of any deal, but only if accompanied by serious spending cuts.
Democrats have said they are open to savings from Medicare and Medicaid, but so far have given no indication of what changes they will accept.
Geithner also was meeting with other congressional leaders in both houses.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner enters the U.S. Capitol in Washington on ... more >
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