WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will
meet business, labor and civic leaders this week ahead of
negotiations with top lawmakers to avert sharp tax hikes and
deep spending cuts that loom at the end of the year, a White
House official said late on Sunday.
The president wants to find "a balanced solution to our
deficit challenges" and a way to move the economy forward, the
official said.
Obama, re-elected to a second four-year term on Tuesday,
faces the immediate challenge of preventing the so-called
"fiscal cliff," a combination of government spending cuts and
tax increases due to be implemented in early 2013 that may cut
the federal budget deficit, but also tip the economy back into
recession.
Obama has scheduled a meeting with Democratic and Republican
leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Friday
to begin negotiations.
The president will meet with leaders from the labor
community and other leaders of the progressive political
movement on Tuesday, the official said. Obama will meet with
business leaders on Wednesday and civic leaders on Friday, the
White House official said.
The president and congressional Republicans have sounded
conciliatory notes since the election on reaching a deal to
avoid the sudden fiscal shock. The two sides are at odds over
raising taxes for top earners.
Obama insisted in his re-election campaign that the wealthy
should pay more as part of any fiscal deal, and has said his
victory at the polls is an endorsement of that view.
Still, on Sunday, two Republican Senators made comments that
could be seen as suggesting they may be willing to negotiate.
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker said he had some sympathy for the
view that there need to be more government revenues as part of
any deficit reduction deal.
"There has to be revenues," he said on Fox News Sunday.
"Look, I haven't met a wealthy Republican or Democrat in
Tennessee that's not willing to contribute more as long as they
know we solve the problem," Corker said.
Separately, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn said there were ways
to eliminate tax loopholes for top earners that could provide
additional funds for government coffers.