Top congressional leaders are heading to the White House today to begin talks with President Obama on an agreement to avert the so-called fiscal cliff of tax cuts and spending hikes set to kick in at the end of the year. Obama has vowed to reject any extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans as part of the deal, while Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell signaled Thursday he would oppose any attempt to raise taxes. Ahead of the talks, a group of lawmakers led by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders called for a deficit-reduction plan that would preserve benefits like Social Security. Sanders spoke during the press conference Thursday.

Bernie Sanders: “We’re going to send a loud message to the leadership in the House, in the Senate and President Obama: Do not cut Social Security, do not cut Medicare, do not cut Medicaid, do not cut. I do not often quote Ronald Reagan, but this is what Ronald Reagan said on October 7, 1984, Ronald Reagan, quote: 'Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit. Social Security is totally funded by the payroll tax levied on employer and employee. If you reduce the outflow of Social Security, that money would not go into the general fund to reduce the deficit,' end of quote, Ronald Reagan.”