Tagged: fiscal cliff

In the wake of helping to avert the fiscal cliff, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is making the rounds on three of the top Sunday political talk shows this weekend.

The GOP leader will be on ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopolous," CBS’s “Face the Nation,” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He is expected to discuss the agreement he made with Vice President Joe Biden, which passed both chambers of Congress earlier this week.

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he and the White House have agreed on preventing tax hikes that the "fiscal cliff" will trigger after midnight. And he says they are very close to an overall deal that would also prevent budget-wide spending cuts.

The Kentucky Republican did not provide any details. But he said on the Senate floor that lawmakers should pass legislation averting tax increases that would otherwise take effect at the start of New Year's Day.

WASHINGTON — The contours of a deal to avert the 'fiscal cliff' are emerging that would raise tax rates on couples making over $450,000 a year, raise the estate tax rate and extend unemployment benefits for one year.

That's according to officials familiar with the negotiations.

The deal in the works would return tax rates on families making over $450,000 to 39.6 percent. The tax on estates worth more than $5 million would increase to 40 percent. And unemployment benefits would continue for one year.