Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama spoke separately Friday with Speaker John Boehner and the top Senate Democrat to try to salvage a fiscal cliff deal by the end of year, after Republican disarray in the U.S. House put the negotiations in limbo. In a previously unscheduled statement to reporters, Obama outlined a possible agreement that he said would include protecting middle-class Americans from a tax hike, extending unemployment benefits and setting a framework for future deficit reduction steps. He called on Congress to pass the agreement after a Christmas break so he can sign it before the end of the year, when the fiscal cliff arrives in the form of automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts.
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NEW: President Obama spoke with congressional leaders about a possible deal
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A Democratic source lays out possible scenarios
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House Republicans reject Speaker Boehner's tax alternative
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Everyone's taxes go up in 11 days without an agreement
Republican
Republicans
"Laws can only pass with support from Democrats and @placeholder," Obama said in urging both sides to compromise.
John Boehner
Boehner
@placeholder also denied a reporter's suggestion that he is walking away from further talks, but he offered no timetable or mechanism for resuming discussions.
John Boehner
Boehner
I disagree with that characterization," @placeholder said Friday by way of explanation, adding that "the perception was out there, and a lot of our members did not want to have to deal with it."
John Boehner
Boehner
"What the president has proposed so far simply won't do anything to solve our spending problems," @placeholder said, noting that "because of the political divide in the country, because of the divide here in Washington, trying to bridge these differences has been difficult."
Americans
Polling has consistently shown most @placeholder back the president, who insists wealthy Americans must pay more, rather than Boehner and his Republican colleagues, who have balked at tax rate hikes and demanded spending cuts and entitlement program reforms.