Bill that averted fiscal cliff awaits President Obama's signature, Vice President Biden helped to broker deal with congressional leaders, wrangling still continues over spending cuts, tax hikes, debt ceiling

- January 02, 2013

United States President Barack Obama (right) and Vice President Joe Biden

By Kathy Wray Coleman, Publisher, Editor-n-Chief, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper(www.clevelandurbannews.com)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The bill that averted the fiscal cliff has reached the desk of President Barack Obama for his signature, though the battle between congressional Republicans and Democrats over tax hikes and spending cuts continues.

"Leaders from both parties came together to reach an agreement that passed with bipartisan support that protects 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small business owners from a middle class tax hike,"said Obama in a press release to Cleveland Urban News.Com. "While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country."

The president said also that the" agreement will also grow the economy

and shrink our deficits in a balanced way by investing in our middle class,

and by asking the wealthy to pay a little more."

Vice President Joe Biden had helped to lobby for the Obama Administration around the fiscal cliff deal, and the vice president was successful at it, some what.

Had congress not averted the fiscal cliff it would have gone into affect this week with mass spending cuts and automatic tax increases.

The deal was brokered following political wranglings on capital hill in the past few weeks makes permanent the Bush tax cuts, which expired Monday, for individuals earning less than $400,000 annually, and families earning less than $450,000.

The deal also extends supplemental unemployment benefits for a year, among other provisions.

It does not, however, address in depth the debt ceiling and spending cuts relative to the fiscal cliff, measures that the bi-partisan congress will no doubt fight over in upcoming weeks, and possibly even longer.

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) Reach Cleveland Urban News.Com by email at editor@clevelandurbannews.com and by phone at 216-659-0473.

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