Republican House Speaker John Boehner accused President Barack Obama on Friday of "slow-walking" the economy to the edge of the "fiscal cliff."
With the deadline for reaching a deal to avert the half trillion dollars in tax increases and spending cuts 3 1/2 weeks away, Boehner said Obama "wasted another week."
"It's time for the president if he's serious to come back to us with a counteroffer," Boehner told reporters.
He said a phone call with Obama "was pleasant but it was just more of the same."
Wall Street took Boehner's comments in stride. (Read More: Stocks Mixed Despite Boehner Comments.)
After the Labor Department reported the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent in November as employment grew faster than expected, Boehner blamed Obama and Democrats for the prolonged uncertainty of the talks and said it was hurting the economy. (Read More: Economy Creates 146,000 Jobs, Rate Slides to 7.7%.)
"The president has adopted a deliberate strategy to slow-walk our economy right to the edge of the fiscal cliff," Boehner said.
Fundamental differences remain between the two sides. The president is demanding that tax cuts set to expire on Dec. 31 be extended for middle-class taxpayers, but not for the more affluent.