Congress avoids fiscal cliff
The US House of Representatives has passed a Senate-backed bill to avoid the ‘fiscal cliff’ of automatic tax rises and spending cuts.
Congressmen voted in favour of the spending plan, which increases taxes on those earning more than $400,000 while delaying spending cuts for a further two months, by 257 to 167.
President Obama, who will sign the bill into law shortly, praised Republicans and Democrats for working together to reach a deal, and called for more cross-party work to tackle America’s deficit.
“We all recognise that this law is just one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy and broaden opportunity for everybody.”
The President also warned that he would not allow another row over the US debt ceiling, since the consequences would be “catastrophic” for the global economy.