(Bloomberg News) President Barack Obama is pressuring Congress again to act on a set of proposals to help small businesses amid signs that Republican leaders are gearing up for an election-year standoff over the federal budget.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky declined to comment after leaving a White House lunch with Obama. The White House set the meeting to talk about the legislative agenda between now and the November elections that will decide which party controls the White House and Congress.

Obama is promoting his five-point "to-do" list for Congress, which includes tax incentives for small businesses to boost hiring. Before going into the meeting, Boehner derided Obama's proposals, saying the president is "playing small ball" while ignoring "big looming problems facing our country."

In his bid for re-election, Obama is seeking to make the case that congressional Republicans are blocking initiatives that would promote job creation and economic growth while offering a rehash of proposals on taxes and regulation that haven't worked in the past. He has accused presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney of being a "rubber stamp" for the Republican majority in the House.

Standoff With Obama

Boehner yesterday signaled that Republicans in the chamber are ready to renew a budget standoff with Obama, saying any future increase in the nation's debt limit be matched by at least as much in spending cuts.

"Allowing the debt ceiling to go up without addressing our fiscal challenge would be the most irresponsible thing that I could do," Boehner said in a speech yesterday before a conference in Washington sponsored by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, accused Boehner of making a "reckless" threat to keep the U.S. from paying its bills.

Boehner said today he is "not threatening default." The Ohio Republican said he intended to press Obama to to lay out his plans "to tackle our looming debt crisis" and for preventing taxes from rising on Jan. 1.

Earlier Battle

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