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Obama To Meet With Civil Rights Leaders To Discuss Fiscal Cliff

ASSOCIATED PRESS
11/15/2012

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is meeting with 13 heads of civil rights organizations and other advocacy groups to seek input on negotiations with Congress to avert automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts on Jan. 1.

Among those who will join Obama and Vice President Joe BidenFriday at the White House are the NAACP’s Ben Jealous, Barry Rand of AARP, civil rights activist Al Sharpton, Janet Murguia of the National Council of La Raza and Marc Morial of the National Urban League.

Obama wants any deficit reduction plan to include tax increases on the wealthy. Republican leaders say they will accept new tax revenue, but not higher tax rates.

Obama has already met with labor leaders as well as corporate CEOs who have backed his call for greater tax revenue.