By Nick Mann | 12 December 2012

The Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives has called on President Barack Obama to give more detail on the spending cuts he is willing to make to avert the ‘fiscal cliff’.

John Boehner told the House yesterday that despite a ‘cordial’ meeting with Obama on Sunday, the Republican opposition was still waiting to find out what cuts would be made as part of the ‘balanced approach’ for future budget plans promised by the president.

Agreement on a new spending package is needed to avoid the ‘fiscal cliff’, the combination of cuts and tax increases that will otherwise automatically take effect on January 1. Economists have warned that failure to do so could send the US economy into recession.

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

‘Here’s what we do know.  We know that the president wants more “stimulus” spending and an increase in the debt limit without any cuts or reforms.  That’s not fixing our problem.  Frankly, it’s making it worse. On top of that the president wants to raise tax rates on many small business owners.’

Boehner said, however, that he was ‘hopeful’ a deal could be reached. ’This is a serious issue and there’s a lot at stake. The American people sent us here to work towards the best possible solution, and that means cutting spending,’ he explained.

‘Now if the president doesn’t agree with our approach, he’s got an obligation to put forward a plan that can pass both chambers of the Congress.  Because right now the American people have to be scratching their heads and wondering, “when is the president going to get serious?”’

Obama’s press secretary Jay Carney disputed Boehner’s claim that the president had yet to put forward detailed spending cuts. Obama’s $4trn deficit reduction package, first published in September 2011, included ‘very specific’ spending cuts – including cuts to benefit spending, as well as revenue plans, he said.

‘What we haven't seen from Republicans, to this day, is a single specific proposal on revenue, and, in fact, we've seen less specificity from Republicans on spending cuts than the president himself has proposed,’ Carney added.

He acknowledged, however, that the president was ready to make ‘tough decisions’ and was ‘not wedded to every detail’ in his plan. ‘He understands that compromise requires all sides to accept something short of the ideal, and he's committed to doing that,’ Carney said.