Speaking to the press before departing for Christmas vacation, the president laid out three things he wanted in a scaled-down package: the extension of Bush-era tax rates for incomes below $250,000, the extension of unemployment insurance benefits and the framework for larger deficit reduction.
“I’ve asked leaders of Congress to work towards a package that prevents a tax hike on middle-class Americans, protects unemployment insurance for two million Americans and lays the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction,” Obama said. “That’s an achievable goal. That can get done in 10 days.”