US President Barack Obama and House leaders remain deadlocked over a deal to extend a payroll tax cut due to expire at the end of the year.
In a statement, Mr Obama blamed lack of progress on a Republican “faction”.
He also told House Speaker John Boehner by phone that he would begin talks on a full-year deal as soon as the House passed an interim bill.
Mr Obama has postponed a family trip to Hawaii, saying he will not leave Washington until a deal is struck.
If Congress fails to act, an estimated 160 million Americans will see their payroll taxes rise on 1 January 2012.
The president said that conservatives in the House of Representatives were blocking passage of a bill that most Democrats and Republicans had agreed to.
“This is exactly why people get so frustrated with Washington,” Mr Obama said.
He accused those who oppose the deal of not appreciating how important the tax credit would be to American workers.
Surrounded by a group of supporters, the president read out messages from voters who said the tax credit would help them pay their heating bills, visit elderly relatives and treat their families to pizza dinners.
Greater certainty
Mr Obama warned that failure to pass an extension of the measures would hit the overall economy, as well as individual families.
He referred to recent, encouraging economic data that he said could be reversed by a rise in their take-home income.
