President Barack Obama said Friday he was "open to new ideas" in efforts to resolve the fiscal crisis, but he insisted that raising taxes for the wealthy must be part of any deal.
"This was a central question during the election," Obama said. "The majority of Americans agree with my approach."
At the Capitol, Republican House Speaker John Boehner said he remains unwilling to raise tax rates on upper-income earners. But he left open the possibility of balancing spending cuts with new revenue that could be achieved by revising the tax code to lower rates and eliminate some tax breaks.
Obama spoke at the White House in front of invited guests who applauded his comments, but Wall Street didn't like what it heard. Stocks surrendered some earlier gains.
(Read More: )
It was Obama's most detailed comments on trying to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" since he won re-election Tuesday.
He also invited business and congressional leaders of both parties to the White House next week for talks on how to avoid the "fiscal cliff."
Obama will hold a news conference on Wednesday and will meet with congressional leaders at the White House next Friday about the fiscal cliff, administration officials said.
Obama urged Congress to act, including passing a bill that would prevent Bush-era tax cuts from expiring for all but the wealthiest Americans.
"I'm open to compromise. I'm open to new ideas," Obama said. "But I refuse to accept any approach that isn't balanced. I'm not going to ask students and seniors and middle class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me making over $250,000 aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes."