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Obama praises House vote on “fiscal cliff” deal
U.S. President Barack Obama. PHOTO/Charles Dharapak
Obama: “Fiscal cliff” deal follows principle that deficit needs to be cut in a balanced way.
President Barack Obama said Tuesday he had fulfilled a campaign promise to make the US tax system fairer with a deal to avert the ‘fiscal cliff’ crisis that passed after a fierce duel in Congress.
Mr. Obama also warned that he would not bargain with Republicans in Congress or offer spending cuts in return for lifting the government’s borrowing limit, known as the debt ceiling, in the coming months.
The U.S. Congress approved a rare tax increase on Tuesday that will hit the nation’s wealthiest households in a bipartisan budget deal that stops the world’s largest economy from falling into a deep fiscal crisis and recession.
By a vote of 257 to 167, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved a bill that fulfills President Barack Obama’s re-election promise to raise taxes on top earners.
The Senate passed the measure earlier in a rare New Year’s Day session and Mr. Obama is expected to sign it into law shortly.
The United States will no longer go over a “fiscal cliff” of tax hikes and spending cuts that had been due to come into force on Tuesday but other bruising budget battles lie ahead in the next two months.
It was a reversal for House Republicans, who were in disarray despite winning deep spending cuts in earlier budget fights. But they saw their leverage slip away this time when they were unable to unite behind any alternative to Obama’s proposal.
