Washington Digest: After trading proposals, Congress closer to ‘fiscal cliff’

WASHINGTON - The nation last week moved closer to year-end enactment of steep tax increases and deep spending cuts after Congress and the White House failed to pull away from the "fiscal cliff."

Congress recessed for the holidays. While senators were scheduled to return to the Capitol after Christmas, it was unclear whether the House would follow suit.

Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, dismissed House members after failing to build enough support for one strategy to address the looming imposition of more than $500 billion in automatic tax increases and spending cuts.

It would have prevented increased taxes on most Americans but allowed increases for people with income above $1 million.

The Boehner plan was rejected by President Barack Obama, who favored a $400,000 income threshold for tax hikes. It also was criticized by Republicans who opposed tax hikes and some who feared the plan did not include spending cuts.

Earlier the Republican-led House voted 215-209 for a GOP bill that sought to avert $97 billion in spending cuts to the Pentagon and some domestic programs. It would replace the cuts with $314 billion in savings over 10 years.

"We believe it's better to identify specific spending cuts, waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government in order to prevent the sequester from occurring," Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said.

But Democrats said the proposal was warmed over from a similar Republican spending bill passed earlier this year that included cuts to food stamps and other social programs.

Reps. Joe Heck and Mark Amodei, both R-Nev., voted for the bill.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., voted against it.

DEFENSE BILL PASSED

Before recessing, Congress finalized a $633.3 billion defense bill setting policy for the Pentagon weapons and personnel programs and funding for the war in Afghanistan.

The House voted 315-107 for the bill after fielding complaints from law­makers about its cost and various specific policy decisions.

The Senate passed the bill by voice vote and sent it to the White House to be signed into law.

Amodei and Heck voted for the bill. Berkley did not vote.

The Senate passed the bill 81-14 and sent it to the White House to be signed into law. Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., voted for it.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.