Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) talks lack of vote over Speaker Boehner's "Plan B" proposal: 'clearly what the president wanted'

Only 11 days remain until the United States falls over the fiscal cliff, but a deal is still pending. House Speaker John Boehner's “Plan B” failed to garner enough support from Republican leadership yesterday. The proposal would have extended Bush era tax cuts for those making less than one million dollars, but a vote on it never happened. Rep. Michael Burgess is a Republican from Texas. He's also a medical doctor who's the Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus. Rep. Burgess joins us live from Washington this morning with more.

Rep. Burgess reflects on the epic opposition Speaker Boehner faced from his own party when he tried to get the House to vote on his Plan B legislation. “It was unlike anything I have seen in my brief ten years here in the nation’s capital,” he says. He says he expected a last minute conference to whip people into shape, "but this was not that."

Rep. Burgess also believes the outcome is “clearly what the president wanted.” “The president has wanted the tax increases that are going to start on January first. He’s wanted the cuts into defense that are going to kick in with the sequester,” Rep. Burgess says. “I really believe this is what the White House has wanted all along.” Rep. Burgess thinks the president has barely engaged in the fiscal cliff talks in Congress. “The president has a lot of power, and unfortunately in this case, it was only between him and the speaker.”