With the re-election of President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, now secure, the focus in Washington turns to the looming fiscal cliff.
Boehner is wasting no time in getting down to business. Boehner’s office said the speaker will issue a statement Wednesday afternoon “on the fiscal cliff and the need for both parties to find common ground and take steps together to help our economy grow and create jobs, which is critical to solving our debt,”
The Washington Post reported.
The term fiscal cliff is Washington shorthand for an array of budget cuts and tax policies set to take effect in January.
They include about $100 billion in automatic cuts to the military and federal agencies that were adopted by Congress last year as part of a plan to reduce record budget deficits.
It also includes about $400 billion in tax hikes, caused primarily by the expiration of a temporary payroll tax cut and other tax breaks adopted during the George W. Bush administration.
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