Republicans offered a new plan to avert the “fiscal cliff” that cuts spending, and protects middle class families and small businesses from higher tax rates. “Now we need a response from the White House,” says Speaker Boehner. But instead of working with the GOP to reach an agreement, news reports indicate the Democrats’ strategy is to “slow-walk” America to the edge of the cliff. Read more below:

• WE HAVE TO CUT SPENDING: “We have to cut spending,” says former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. Bowles told Face the Nation that even if the president got his tax rate hikes, we’d still have trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see. Raising tax rates won’t solve our debt problem.
• A BALANCED PLAN: The GOP plan calls for real spending cuts and entitlement reform, and would simplify our tax code by closing loopholes and lowering rates. A majority of Americans support this kind of a balanced approach, which would help pave the way for long-term job creation.
• NOT SERIOUS: The president’s plan is based on his budget - which was unanimously defeated in both the House and Democratic-controlled Senate - and would punish small business owners and increase government spending.
• “SLOW-WALK”: If you’re wondering why an agreement hasn’t been reached to avoid the fiscal cliff, here’s why: reports say Democrats are “adopting a deliberate strategy to slow-walk” the process and are “refusing to negotiate.”
• WHITE HOUSE CLAIM DEBUNKED: The White House claims the “math” on the GOP plan doesn’t work. But that’s not what the president was saying in 2011. Here’s a look at the president’s ever-shifting views on tax reform.
• ONE MILLION SMALL BUSINESSES: Republican leaders met with small business owners who will get hit if President Obama raises tax rates instead of cutting spending. Speaker Boehner said the president’s plan would hurt nearly one million small businesses and destroy thousands of jobs.
• A PLAN THAT CAN PASS: “If the president doesn’t agree with our proposal,” Speaker Boehner said, he has an obligation to offer “a plan that can pass both chambers of the Congress. We’re ready, and eager, to talk to the president about such a plan.”
• INSIDE CONGRESS: Watch Speaker Boehner’s remarks at the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. And click here for more photos from the U.S. Capitol from November 2012.