After Overnight Senate Vote, Fiscal Cliff Deal Heads To House

Sen. John Barrasso, left, R-Wyo., talks with Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who holds up his watch, near the Senate chambers after a vote on the fiscal cliff, on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)

On the Today show this morning, NBC political director Chuck Todd predicted that the House will pass a last-minute deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, which passed in the Senate overnight.

But House Speaker John Boehner hasn’t yet scheduled a vote on the bill that would, against the longstanding objections of many Republicans, let income tax rates rise for the first time in 20 years.

The House convenes at noon Tuesday in a rare New Year’s Day session. The Wall Street Journal reports that even though the U.S. technically went over the so-called fiscal cliff at midnight, the economic impact of missing the deadline will be minimal because U.S. markets are closed Tuesday.

Guest:

John Bresnahan, senior congressional correspondent for Politico. He tweets @BresPolitico.

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

Raoul Ornelas

Some freaking compromise! This is not why I voted for President Obama! 84% of the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy retained is dead wrong! The problem: We have a millionaire President and a congress made of millionaires (80%) who have stolen my vote for the sake of greed by pretending they are helping the middle class and paying down the BUSH DEFICIT ALONG WITH TWO WARS PAID ON A CHINESE CREDIT CARD on the backs of the middle class. This compromise sucks! $450,000.00 tax break for the wealthy is not a compromise!
Dot

Oh, Robin! I was so disappointed to hear you refer to the Bush tax cuts as”the Bush-era” tax cuts! When did you drink the Republican coolade & decide not to call a spade a spade? Language matters.
- Robin Y
  
  Dot I take your point! I didn’t make the distinction you’re making.
  
  Best
  Robin
  - It
    
    Oops. Robin fell off the Democrat talking points. Since language is so important here can someone explain how undocumented means the same as illegal unless you are affraid to “call a spade a spade”?
Raoul Ornelas

Let me do it this way. In the State of Oregon one’s state taxes are based on how much one earns. If one earns below $150,000.00 dollars one’s taxes are lower subsequently if one earns above $150,000.00 one pays more state taxes. Yet if one pays taxes at the federal level (with the Obama compromise) one pays more taxes if one earns more than $450,000.00. Question: If taxes at the State level are increased for earners above $150,000.00 then how come at the federal level they start at the $450,000.00 for already wealthy tax payers? Remedy: Quit making secret tax deals behind closed doors. Second: The Obama compromise must have a Rider Bill, which forces the wages of the Congress including health care be reduced at an incremental level of 20% a month until a resolution is reached on any bill. These people are overpaid for doing nothing and at the same time protecting their money interest. Also, eliminating one’s mortgage tax deduction in any form will gut the remainder of the American middle and lower classes for obtaining a home. Mitt Romney (of all people) solutions for mangling mortgage deductions should not be discussed on this program.