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30 November 2010
Last updated at 09:57 ET
President Obama is to meet Republican and Democratic leaders on Tuesday for talks on issues to be tackled in the year's final session of Congress.
Key items on the agenda include extending Bush-era tax cuts and the New Start nuclear arms treaty with Russia.
Republicans said ahead of the talks they were opposed to any tax increases
The meeting has been dubbed the "Slurpee" summit following a remark Mr Obama made during campaigning for the US mid-term elections.
Speaking about efforts to repair the US economy, Mr Obama described Democrats working to "dig the car out of the ditch" while Republicans sat back "sipping on a Slurpee [iced drink]".
'Shared responsibility'
Mr Obama was expected to call for bipartisan co-operation in Tuesday's meeting at the White House, which comes after the Republicans made big gains in the mid-term elections.
"We now have a shared responsibility to deliver for the American people on the issues that define not only these times but our future and I hope we can do that in a cooperative and serious way," Mr Obama said on Monday.
Among the top issues expected to be on the table is whether, or how, to extend the soon-to-expire tax cuts pushed through by President George W Bush and the Republicans in 2001 and 2003.
Mr Obama favours extending the lower rates for middle class Americans while letting them lapse for households earning more than $250,000 (£160,854).
Republicans favour extending them at all levels, a move opponents say will add billions of dollars to the federal budget deficit.
The Republicans want to "make sure no one gets a tax hike while we're trying to create jobs in the private sector," House Republican Eric Cantor said on Tuesday.
Pay freeze
The meeting between the president and congressional leaders from both parties will also discuss the fate of the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty Mr Obama signed with Russia in April.
Mr Obama and the Democrats and a host of top former national security officials from both parties have called for the US Senate to ratify the treaty, a step necessary for it to take effect.
But the top Republican handling the issue, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, has said it will have to wait until after January when the new Congress is sworn in and Republican numbers are strengthened.
Also on the agenda will be an effort to slash the federal budget deficit, expected to exceed $1.3 trillion this year. On that issue, Mr Obama on Monday announced a pay freeze for federal workers.
Among those expected to attend the White House summit are Vice-President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Republican leader John Boehner, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
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Key items on the agenda include extending Bush-era tax cuts and the New Start nuclear arms treaty with Russia.
Republicans said ahead of the talks they were opposed to any tax increases
The meeting has been dubbed the "Slurpee" summit following a remark Mr Obama made during campaigning for the US mid-term elections.
Speaking about efforts to repair the US economy, Mr Obama described Democrats working to "dig the car out of the ditch" while Republicans sat back "sipping on a Slurpee [iced drink]".
'Shared responsibility'
Mr Obama was expected to call for bipartisan co-operation in Tuesday's meeting at the White House, which comes after the Republicans made big gains in the mid-term elections.
"We now have a shared responsibility to deliver for the American people on the issues that define not only these times but our future and I hope we can do that in a cooperative and serious way," Mr Obama said on Monday.
Among the top issues expected to be on the table is whether, or how, to extend the soon-to-expire tax cuts pushed through by President George W Bush and the Republicans in 2001 and 2003.
Mr Obama favours extending the lower rates for middle class Americans while letting them lapse for households earning more than $250,000 (£160,854).
Republicans favour extending them at all levels, a move opponents say will add billions of dollars to the federal budget deficit.
The Republicans want to "make sure no one gets a tax hike while we're trying to create jobs in the private sector," House Republican Eric Cantor said on Tuesday.
Pay freeze
The meeting between the president and congressional leaders from both parties will also discuss the fate of the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty Mr Obama signed with Russia in April.
Mr Obama and the Democrats and a host of top former national security officials from both parties have called for the US Senate to ratify the treaty, a step necessary for it to take effect.
But the top Republican handling the issue, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, has said it will have to wait until after January when the new Congress is sworn in and Republican numbers are strengthened.
Also on the agenda will be an effort to slash the federal budget deficit, expected to exceed $1.3 trillion this year. On that issue, Mr Obama on Monday announced a pay freeze for federal workers.
Among those expected to attend the White House summit are Vice-President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Republican leader John Boehner, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
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