“It comes down to this,” Obama said. “If 218 members of the House vote the right way, 98% of American families and 97% of small business owners will have the certainty of knowing that that their income taxes will not go up next year.”

The president said lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree with his plan to extend the Bush-era tax rate for families earning less than $250,000 a year.

“When Democrats and Republicans agree on something, it should be pretty easy to get it done,” he said. “But right now, that’s not the case. Instead of doing what’s right for middle- class families and small-business owners, Republicans in Congress are holding these tax cuts hostage until we extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.”