Boehner to Obama: 'This is your moment'

The top Republican in Congress, House Speaker John Boehner, has made his first public remarks since Democratic President Barack Obama was re-elected to a second term in office.

Mr Boehner said that Republicans stood ready to work with the president to tackle issues such as the so-called "fiscal cliff" - a package of automatic tax rises and cuts to military and domestic spending that economists say could send the US back into recession.

The speaker said that, to achieve compromise, his party would consider ways to generate more tax revenue, by pursuing tax reform. But he said such concessions were conditional and would require the president to make changes to existing entitlement programmes.

"Mr President, this is your moment. We're ready to be led, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans," Mr Boehner said. "We want you to succeed."