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"The House voted Tuesday night to adopt the Senate-approved &#8220;fiscal cliff&#8221; bill aimed at averting automatic spending cuts and tax increases that were still threatening millions of Americans the first day of 2013. The measure, which passed 257 to 167 with the support of most Democrats and some Republicans, marked a hard-won political triumph for President Barack Obama less than two months after he secured re-election. &#8220;A central promise of my campaign for president was to change the tax code that was too skewed towards the wealthy at the expense of working middle-class Americans,&#8221; Obama said at the White House before flying to Hawaii to resume his vacation. The legislation will raise rates on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 a couples, extend expiring unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and prevent a cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients. It also will cancel a $900 pay jump due to lawmakers in March. Obama spoke with vice president Joe Biden at his side, underscoring the one-time senator&#8217;s role as Democrats’ key eleventh-hour negotiator with GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell. More showdowns are expected in the months ahead over raising the nation’s debt limit and the funding of federal agencies. Republicans have said they will demand spending cuts in return for raising the debt limit."
<https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/bill-to-avert-fiscal-cliff-heads-to-house-for-approval/1947390/>