The House of Representatives voted Tuesday night to approve the Senate’s bill to avoid the fiscal cliff, and just in time before the new Congress is set to be sworn in on Thursday.
Once Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnel of Kentucky met early Tuesday on a deal to prevent the fiscal cliff. The measure passed the Democratic-led Senate, with hopes that it could pass the Republican-led House.
“Thanks to the votes of Democrats and Republicans in Congress I will sign a law that raises the taxes on the wealthiest of Americans, while preventing a middle-class tax hike,” says President Obama.
As previously reported on La Plaza, the fiscal cliff debate had affected many Latino families. Many feared that if a decision wasn’t made soon, there would have been cuts on many families’ only source of income, including social security and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.
There is a split between many Republicans who voted in this bill. Nonetheless, those who voted feel like it was the right decision to make at the moment.
“I’m a very reluctant yes,” says Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth of New York. “This is the best we can do given the Senate and the White House sentiment at this point in time, and it is at least a partial victory for the American people,” she said. “I’ll take that at this point.”
“I reluctantly supported it because it sets in stone lower tax rates for roughly 99 percent of American taxpayers,” says Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. “With millions of Americans watching Washington with anger, frustration and anxiety that their taxes will skyrocket, this is the best course of action we can take to protect as many people as possible from massive tax hikes.”
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