Congress passed a "fiscal cliff" bill that raised tax rates on household income and investment profits over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples.
U.S. budget cuts set to take effect
Wednesday were delayed as Congress passed a "fiscal cliff" bill that
raised tax rates on the rich with Republican support.
The bill, sent to President Barack Obama for his signature, averts big income tax increases on most Americans.
It also keeps benefits flowing to 2 million unemployed workers and delays for two months automatic cuts to the Defense Department and other agencies that had been set to take effect Wednesday.
But it also lets tax rates go up on household income and investment profits over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples. Not since 1991 have congressional Republicans supported such a move.
The measure was approved by the House 257 to 167 shortly before 11 p.m. EST, with 85 Republicans joining 172 Democrats in the majority. Voting no were 151 Republicans and 16 Democrats.
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who rarely takes part in roll calls, voted in favor.
Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the No. 3 Republican, voted no.
Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, supported the bill.
The measure passed the Senate early Tuesday morning by an overwhelming 89-8 vote. It was supported by nearly all Senate Republicans, including some of the most conservative members, including Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
Obama appeared in the White House press briefing room minutes after the House passed the bill.
"Thanks to the votes of Democrats and Republicans in Congress, I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans while preventing a middle-class tax hike that could have sent the economy back into recession and obviously had a severe impact on families all across America," Obama said, with Vice President Joe Biden standing behind him.
Obama said he would like to take additional steps to reduce the nation's deficit.
"The one thing that I think, hopefully, in the New Year we'll focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinkmanship, not scare the heck out of folks quite as much," he said.
The New Year's Day bill defers the ballooning cost of healthcare and cuts the deficit by $600 billion instead of the $4 trillion Obama and congressional leaders said they wanted to negotiate.
Obama took off for Hawaii around midnight to return to his wife and daughters, who he left the day after Christmas to return to Washington for the "cliff" talks.
It was not immediately clear when he would sign the measure.
The bill, sent to President Barack Obama for his signature, averts big income tax increases on most Americans.
It also keeps benefits flowing to 2 million unemployed workers and delays for two months automatic cuts to the Defense Department and other agencies that had been set to take effect Wednesday.
But it also lets tax rates go up on household income and investment profits over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples. Not since 1991 have congressional Republicans supported such a move.
The measure was approved by the House 257 to 167 shortly before 11 p.m. EST, with 85 Republicans joining 172 Democrats in the majority. Voting no were 151 Republicans and 16 Democrats.
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who rarely takes part in roll calls, voted in favor.
Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the No. 3 Republican, voted no.
Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, supported the bill.
The measure passed the Senate early Tuesday morning by an overwhelming 89-8 vote. It was supported by nearly all Senate Republicans, including some of the most conservative members, including Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
Obama appeared in the White House press briefing room minutes after the House passed the bill.
"Thanks to the votes of Democrats and Republicans in Congress, I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans while preventing a middle-class tax hike that could have sent the economy back into recession and obviously had a severe impact on families all across America," Obama said, with Vice President Joe Biden standing behind him.
Obama said he would like to take additional steps to reduce the nation's deficit.
"The one thing that I think, hopefully, in the New Year we'll focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinkmanship, not scare the heck out of folks quite as much," he said.
The New Year's Day bill defers the ballooning cost of healthcare and cuts the deficit by $600 billion instead of the $4 trillion Obama and congressional leaders said they wanted to negotiate.
Obama took off for Hawaii around midnight to return to his wife and daughters, who he left the day after Christmas to return to Washington for the "cliff" talks.
It was not immediately clear when he would sign the measure.
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