WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to break a stalemate that is threatening 160 million workers with Jan. 1 tax increases, President Barack Obama urged the top leaders of Congress Wednesday to first pass a short-term extension while promising to work with lawmakers on a full-year measure.

Obama's calls to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., came as the two leaders were trapped in a deadlock over competing demands.

The White House said Obama told Boehner that "the short-term bipartisan compromise passed by almost the entire Senate is the only option to ensure that middle class families aren't hit with a tax hike in 10 days and gives both sides the time needed to work out a full year solution."

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