White House, GOP swap fiscal cliff proposals

>> the state of the negotiations and just how much running room the speaker has is congresswoman -- washington state congresswoman cathy mcmorris -rodgers. recently elected chair of the house republican conference . graduations to you with that. what is the speaker telling you about how much give there has to be from republicans and what you think you can get out of the white house ?

>> well, the speaker has been disappointed so far in his conversations with the president that they are not getting closer, we need the good-faith negotiations, and the speaker went to the podium the day after the election and said the republicans were willing to put revenue on the table, new tax revenue on the table. and right now, the republicans find themselves in this position where it is very important that we also are addressing the other side of that equation, the balanced solution that also addresses the spending side of it, the importance of looking at spending cuts and entitlement reform and we believe this really is our moment to tackle those big problems that you guys were just talking about.

>> congresswoman, what are you saying when you look at our poll, which says 65% of those polled want compromise, and the compromise, even if it includes giving up on spending cuts and taxes and on the abc/ washington post poll, they clearly favor the president by 49% over the speaker's position.

>> well, the republicans are -- we believe, and we're standing by what is best for the middle class , what we believe is going to provide that certainty for the middle class , provide the certainty for the economy, and we have concerns about raising the tax rates themselves, but we recognize that it's going to take -- it's going to take that balanced approach. the president, during the campaign, talked about a 3 to 1 type of agreement where there would be $3 in spending cuts for every dollar in new tax revenue , and that is a model that we can support. we would like to get to the table and actually start those good-faith negotiations, similar to what president reagan and tip o'neill did back in the early '80s. that's the approach we need, and we need that leadership from the president.

>> did meet face-to-face, had another conversation last night, what is the speaker telling you about how far apart they are?

>> the speaker says that unfortunately what is presented on paper is the president going the opposite direction where he's asking for no taxes, stimulus, more spending, and not serious about the spending cuts. and in order for us to get an agreement, in order for us to get something through the house and the senate, it's going to take both. it's going to take the new revenue and the spending cuts, and that's, unfortunately, the spending cuts are missing right now in the president's proposal.

>> does it worry you that according to the polling, the washington post and abc's and ours certainly now, that the american people are not supporting the republican house caucus position?

>> well, i also -- i've also seen the polls that show the american people are very concerned about the debt, and they do believe that spending cuts need to be on the table, that we cannot continue to spend so much more than we're taking in. you know, the trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, the nearly doubling of the national debt . americans recognize that that is going to hamper us moving forward, whether on a national security basis, as well as our economic growth moving forward. so i know that the polls say certain things. i've seen a lot of polls that do show that americans want us to start living within our means, start balancing budgets, and middle class americans recognize they have to do it in their household and they expect the federal government to do likewise.

>> thank you very much, congresswoman cathy mcmorris rodgers .