国际英语新闻:Obama ‘Modestly Optimistic’ About Fiscal Deal

WHITE HOUSE — U.S. President Barack Obama says he is “modestly optimistic” that a deal can be reached to avert a fiscal crisis. The president spoke Friday after meeting with top lawmakers from both parties.

Obama expressed his frustration with the partisan bickering which has persisted almost to the deadline. But he said his one-hour meeting with congressional leaders at the White House was “good” and “constructive.”

As a result, he said the top Senate Democrat, Majority Leader Harry Reid, and the top Senate Republican, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, will try to reach a deal on deficit reduction before Monday’s deadline.

“I am modestly optimistic that an agreement can be achieved. Nobody is going to get 100 percent of what they want, but let’s make sure that middle-class families and the American economy, and in fact, the world economy, are not adversely impacted because people cannot do their jobs,” he said.

Alternate plans

If no deal is reached by Monday, all Americans will see their taxes go up, unemployment benefits will stop, and there will be deep cuts to government programs, including defense. If the Senate leaders cannot agree, the president said he will ask Reid to pass a bill to stop most of the adverse effects of the so-called “fiscal cliff.”

He said McConnell and the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, should not block the votes.

“I believe such a proposal could pass both houses with bipartisan majorities, as long as those leaders allow it to actually come to a vote. If members of the House or the Senate want to vote no, they can, but we should let everybody vote,” said Obama.

After meeting with the president, McConnell said he was “hopeful and optimistic” that a deal could be reached, and that lawmakers could vote on a proposal as early as Sunday, when the House and Senate are next in session.

Reid vowed to do everything he could to prevent the tax increases and spending cuts that he said threaten the nation’s economy. The top Senate Democrat said he is preparing a bill for a vote Monday, which would raise taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 a year - Obama’s original proposal.