Speaker John Boehner marked Veterans Day with a brief video tribute this morning. You can watch it above or by clicking here.

Speaker Boehner also addressed an issue this week that threatens our troops and our national security: the “combination of automatic spending cuts and tax rate increases” that takes effect in January, also known as the “fiscal cliff.”

In the Weekly Republican Address, Speaker Boehner outlines a path forward for Democrats and Republicans to work together to avert the fiscal cliff. Click here to watch and learn more about Boehner’s proposal below, which includes:

PROTECTING OUR TROOPS: The fiscal cliff’s defense ‘sequester’ cuts threaten our national security. Boehner says a balanced approach would be to replace the defense sequester with “common-sense spending cuts that are truly needed.” The House passed a bill in May that does so, and reduces our deficit another $242 billion.

STOPPING TAX RATE HIKES: “Mr. Boehner was clear that Republicans wouldn’t support raising tax rates,” wrote the Wall Street Journal. Tax rate increases will destroy jobs. The House passed a bipartisan bill to stop all of them; tax rate hikes in a Senate-passed bill are part of the fiscal cliff economists warn we need to avoid.

GROWING OUR ECONOMY: Boehner says pro-growth tax reform - cutting loopholes and lowering rates - will lead to a stronger economy. And “a stronger economy means more revenue – which is exactly what the president is seeking,” says Boehner. He cites the Tax Reform Act of 1986 as a model for this kind of reform.

SPENDING CUTS & ENTITLEMENT REFORM: Another key to solving our debt and growing our economy is to take “concrete steps to put our country's entitlement programs on a sounder financial footing,” says Speaker Boehner. He also told ABC News that repealing the president’s health care law must be on the table as well.

“2013 should be the year we begin to solve our debt through tax reform and entitlement reform,” says Speaker Boehner. “I'm proposing that we avert the fiscal cliff together in a manner that ensures that 2013 is finally the year that our government comes to grips with the major problems that are facing us.”