WASHINGTON -- The United States government will miss the end-of-the-year deadline to resolve the so-called fiscal cliff, House Republicans conceded Monday afternoon.
The House of Representatives will adjourn Dec. 31 without voting on a bill to delay the impending tax hikes and spending cuts that will begin going into effect tomorrow. Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) sent the following update to party members on Monday afternoon.
Good afternoon. Thanks for your patience. Here's the latest on the Floor schedule:
There will be a Special GOP Conference Meeting at 5:00 p.m. in HC-5. Immediately following Conference tonight, roughly 5:30-6:00 p.m. we will have our first and only vote series of the day on suspensions.
Walk off the Floor: 6:00-6:30 p.m.
The Senate has not yet finalized a deal to resolve these issues, but it is widely expected that it will reach an agreement by the end of Monday. Because of that, the markets may not react too negatively to the House missing the deadline by a few days. It helps that stock exchanges are closed on New Year's Day.
Still, the inability of Congress to resolve this issue on time caps off a session that was historically unproductive. The 113th Congress convenes on Jan. 3.
UPDATE: 5:25 p.m. -- House Speaker John Boehner signaled Monday evening that there could still be a late vote on a deal to avert the fiscal cliff and that members of the lower chamber had been advised to stay near the Capitol just in case.
"House continues to wait for Senate to act on #fiscalcliff. @GOPWhip has advised Members to stay near Capitol in case of further votes," Boehner said in a tweet.
UPDATE: 6:36 p.m. -- It now appears official. The House announced that it was adjourning on Monday evening and will reconvene at noon on Jan. 1. The fiscal cliff will be hit.
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