Barack Obama, Congress | featured news

House Speaker John Boehner has invited President Obama to deliver his State of the Union message on Feb. 12. "Our nation continues to face immense challenges, and the American people expect us to work together in the new year to find meaningful solutions," wrote House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in a letter inviting Obama to address a joint session of Congress.

Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday the White House plans to act quickly to curb gun violence and will explore all avenues - including executive orders that would not require the approval of Congress - to try to prevent incidents like last month's massacre at a Connecticut school.

Days after one high-stakes standoff over finances was resolved, the two sides are getting ready for another as Congress prepares to address the nation’s borrowing limit.

Legislation to block the "fiscal cliff" is headed to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature. The bill will avoid, for now, the major tax increases and government spending cuts that had been scheduled to take effect with the new year.

Financial markets would be affected adversely if U.S. lawmakers fail to agree on a "fiscal cliff" deal before Tuesday, President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast on Sunday, while urging Congress to act quickly to extend tax cuts for middle-class Americans.

Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn of the new year as President Barack Obama warned that failure could mean a "self-inflicted wound to the economy."

U.S. President Barack Obama and John Boehner, the top Republican in Washington, met at the White House on Monday to try to reach a budget deal that would head off steep tax hikes and spending cuts that could push the economy into recession next year.

Negotiations are expected to continue Thursday on the "fiscal cliff" with Republicans at a growing public opinion disadvantage and approval ratings for President Barack Obama rising to levels not seen since the killing of Osama bin Laden.

House Republican leaders are pressing President Barack Obama to come up with plan they can accept for spending cuts and tax revenue to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and budget reductions.

Some of the best Republican arguments against President Barack Obama's proposals to avoid a "fiscal cliff" come from the president himself, in comments he made months or years before his re-election. Stung by the GOP's midterm election gains in 2010, Obama took stands that differ from his current positions on raising tax rates, adjusting Social Security and other topics now dominating Washington as a Dec. 31 deadline nears.