U.S. House Speaker John Boehner proposed $2.2 trillion of spending cuts and new revenue that lack what President Barack Obama calls essential for a fiscal agreement: higher tax rates for top-earning Americans.

Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said yesterday that it was a "credible plan that deserves consideration by the White House." The Obama administration promptly rejected the proposal, which would raise the Medicare eligibility age and slow Social Security cost-of-living increases.

The two sides remain far apart with about four weeks left before more than $600 billion in tax increases and federal spending cuts start taking effect, possibly triggering a recession. As political pressure mounts, Democrats continue to insist on higher tax rates for top earners while Republicans press for reductions in entitlement programs.