Tax Deal Done - but Where's Obama to Sign It?

Jan 2, 2013 6:29pm

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Congress officially delivered the bill to avert the fiscal cliff to the White House this afternoon, House Speaker John Boehner’s office told ABC News.

Now the question is when will the President sign it?

The bill, passed late on New Year’s Day, expires tomorrow at 11:59 a.m. when the current session of Congress concludes. If President Obama doesn’t sign it by then, constitutionally the bill is dead.

But this evening, eighteen hours before the deadline, the President is on a golf course in Hawaii.  And the bill is in Washington at the White House.

Administration officials won’t say what they will do despite repeated inquiries from ABC News.

There seem to be two options:  1) An Air Force jet can deliver the bill to Hawaii (better leave quickly!) in time for the President to sign it before 11:59 Eastern Standard Time; or, 2) The White House can use a presidential “auto-pen.”

The simple mechanical device uses a template of the presidential signature to scrawl it on paper if activated by the White House at Obama’s direction.

But would an auto-pen – usually used to sign insignificant correspondence and photographs – pass constitutional muster?  We don’t know.  The question has never been tested by the courts.

A 2005 legal study commissioned by former President George W. Bush determined that use of the autopen is constitutional but acknowledged the possibility that its use could be challenged.  Bush never used the autopen, officials from his administration told ABC.

President Obama is only believed to have used the autopen once to sign a piece of major legislation — the 2011 extension of the Patriot Act — which reached his desk while he was on a diplomatic trip to Europe. Officials invoked national security concerns to justify the move.

Use of the autopen has been controversial.  Conservative groups alleged last summer that Obama used an autopen to sign condolence letters to the families of Navy SEALs killed in a Chinook crash in Afghanistan — a charge the White House disputed flatly as false.

In 2004, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was criticized for using an autopen to sign condolence letters to the families of fallen troops.

And in 1992 then-Vice President Dan Quayle even got into some hot water over his use of the autopen on official correspondence during an appearance on “This Week with David Brinkley.” More HERE.

ABC News’ Ann Compton and Devin Dwyer contributed reporting.

SHOWS: World News

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In-depth 2012: The best long reads of the year

Read more: "2013 Smart Guide: 10 ideas that will shape the year"

Dig deeper, look closer and think harder – these are the goals of New Scientist's in-depth articles. Each one is perfect for saving in your favourite read-it-later app and curling up in front of a glowing tablet for a good long read.

These are our editors' picks of our best features of the year, and all are prime examples of the amazing breadth of big ideas that were ripe for the tackling in 2012. When you have finished digesting these readable meals, visit our in-depth articles archive if you're hungry for more.

Richard Webb: "You might not have heard of the algorithm that runs the world." I certainly hadn't, or that its mathematical foundations are starting to look a little wobbly. An eye-opening examination of how seemingly abstruse mathematics is in fact deeply embedded in modern life: "The algorithm that runs the world"

Sally Adee: Gastric bypass surgery is the best surgery you're not getting, said Dr Oz on his popular medical advice show in the US. Because of enthusiasm from people like him, this operation has become massively popular – but by whimsically hacking at our stomach, might we might be messing with a system far more complicated than anyone really understands? Samantha Murphy had the surgery and began to realise that losing 45 kilograms could come with some profound neurological trade-offs: "Change your stomach, change your brain"

Michael Le Page: Nowadays most people either haven't heard of the 1970 book The Limits to Growth, or believe – wrongly – that the research it was based on has been discredited. But the main message of Limits is perhaps more relevant than ever – that a delayed response to mounting environmental problems leads to catastrophe further down the line: "Boom and doom: Revisiting prophecies of collapse"

Richard Fisher: This is a simple story about a scientific mystery. Strange rumbles, whistles and blasts have been reported all over the world for centuries. In New York state, they are called "Seneca guns"; in the Italian Apennines they are described as brontidi, which means thunder-like; in Japan they are yan; and along the coast of Belgium they are called mistpouffers – or fog belches. Yet the cause is often unexplained – what on Earth could be behind them? "Mystery booms: The source of a worldwide sonic enigma"

Valerie Jamieson: It's been a sensational year for particle physics, but the Higgs boson isn't the only fascinating particle in town. Meet 11 more particles that change our understanding of the subatomic world: "11 particles for 11 physics puzzles"

David Robson: What is the secret of the legendary "flow state" that seems to mark out genius in everyone from piano virtuosos to tennis champions? With the latest brain stimulation techniques, it may soon be within everyone's reach, and Sally Adee writes with panache as she describes her own use of the technology during a terrifying marksmanship training session. This has everything I want to read in a story – drama, a revolutionary idea and some practical advice for anyone to try at home: "Zap your brain into the zone: Fast track to pure focus"

Graham Lawton: The writer of this article, Christopher Kemp, is a self-confessed lover of marginalia – nooks and crannies of science that are often overlooked. But as this beautifully written story reveals, those nooks and crannies often contain rich and fascinating material. Material, in fact, like ambergris: "Heaven scent: The grey gold from a sperm whale's gut"

Ben Crystall: Many people may remember the wonder material Starlite from an episode of BBC TV's Tomorrow's World – it seemed to have a miraculous ability to withstand fire and heat. So what happened to it? In this feature Richard Fisher uncovers the strange tale of Starlite and its eccentric inventor Maurice Ward, and on the way reveals fascinating details about Ward and his creation. And though Ward is dead, the story may not be over – it now looks like Starlite could get a second chance… "The power of cool: Whatever became of Starlite?"

Clare Wilson: I enjoyed working on this feature the most this year because to me it truly represents the future of medicine. New Scientist often predicts that some new medicine or technology will be available in five years' time. When it comes to using gene therapies or stem cell therapies on babies in the womb – the subject of this feature – the timeline is probably more uncertain, yet I don't see how anyone can doubt that some day it will happen: "Fetal healing: Curing congenital diseases in the womb"

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

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If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

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Tennis: Ferrer avoids falling into a hole

DOHA: Top-seeded David Ferrer started the new season with a dropped first set here Tuesday to Dustin Brown, a qualifier outside the world's top 150, and a damaged court which opened like a crater on the moon.

Repairs appeared to involve tape and glue on a tear about five feet behind the baseline where Ferrer's heel had ripped into the surface.

There was also an anxious-looking conference and a ball-boys' impromptu Gangnam-style dance session on the playing area during a delay which lasted more than an hour.

It was eventually two and a half hours before the world number five from Spain survived his first round in the Qatar Open by 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 against Brown who is a tall, Jamaica-based German nicknamed "Dreddy," with impressive locks flying down to the small of his back.

"None of it was easy," said Ferrer, which was an understatement. Brown was unusual for his aggressive serving, eager forward movement, and willingness to volley, and other circumstances must have seemed to Ferrer bizarrely familiar.

Two years ago, he and Andy Roddock were forced off their court at the US Open by a crack near the baseline which let the water through, and required them to change courts, and last year at New York, a tornado forced Ferrer and Novak Djokovic to interrupt their semi-final by an entire day.

Roddick tweeted a solution for Doha, suggesting they should "move Ferrer to court 13" - the court number where the American completed his 2011 US Open win over the Spaniard. Ferrer chortled his laughter when he heard.

Later Ferrer commented on the oddities which had afflicted him in the last two years by saying: "Yeah - so many things, yeah. Too many things."

Asked if something were following him around, he said: "Something, yes - it's bad luck. I don't even know why."

This time Ferrer had a more fortunate resumption. Though a set down he broke Brown's serve at once, and consolidated that advantage right through the second set.

He then making another crucial break at the start of the third set, by which time the favourite was accelerating towards safety.

The seedings say that Ferrer should play a final on Saturday with Richard Gasquet, the world number ten from France, whose fluency appeared only intermittently during a 6-3, 6-4 over Jan Hernych, a 33-year-old Czech qualifier.

Hernych struck his ground strokes more often inside the baseline than Gasquet - often a sign of potential dominance - but missed with three of his four break point chances.

Gasquet's confidence improved markedly after breaking serve at the start of the second set and never looked like being pegged back, dropping only five points in his next five service games.

He could have a semi-final with his compatriot Gael Monfils, last year's runner-up, whose first match in two and a half months was a comfortable re-introduction, a 6-0, 6-3 win over the local wild card player, Mousa Shanan Zayed.

However, Monfils' next encounter is a potentially tough one, against Philipp Kohlschreiber, the third-seeded German.

He may also be mindful of the fate of another Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy, the fifth seed but a 6-4, 6-4 loser to a German qualifier, Daniel Brands.

-AFP/ac

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GOP anger threatens to undo deal

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: A GOP source says the House is likely to vote on some version of the deal Tuesday night


• House Majority Leader Eric Cantor does not support the Senate compromise


• Other GOP representatives say more must be done to cut spending


• Lawmakers are under a tight deadline; A new Congress will be sworn in Thursday

With the fiscal cliff deal in limbo, what's your New Year's message to Washington? Go to CNN iReport to share your video.

(CNN) -- A last-ditch Senate compromise to avert the fiscal cliff appeared to be in jeopardy with House Republicans slamming the deal negotiated with the White House and demanding more must be done to cut spending.

The measure that sought to maintain tax cuts for most Americans but increase rates on the wealthy passed the Democratic-led Senate overwhelmingly early on Tuesday. But Republican frustration over deficit-reduction muddled prospects for final action in the GOP-controlled House.

"This is not a good deal," said Rep. Steve LaTourette of Ohio. "This is a sad state of affairs -- that we're going to take a bill that was passed on New Year's Eve by some sleep-deprived octogenarians that has very, very heavy on taxes and does nothing to cut spending, which is really part of the big problem that we have in the country."

The Senate bill would raise roughly $600 billion in new revenues over 10 years, according to various estimates.

Blog: Read the latest updates from CNN's political team

House Republicans met on Tuesday to discuss the next steps — whether to consider the bill as written -- a so-called up or down vote -- or amend it and send it back to the Senate.

Republican leaders gauged support for adding an estimated $300 billion in spending cuts, according to GOP sources. Those reductions, however, would be delayed for two months.

If approved, that plan would require additional action by the Senate, which adjourned until Wednesday.

The other option was to pass the Senate bill as written.

Time was crucial, however, as a new Congress is set to be sworn-in on Thursday. Congress would have to start over with votes if there was no action on the Senate bill or any other proposal by then.

The legislation as writtren now would avert much of the fiscal cliff's negative near-term economic impact by extending the Bush-era tax cuts for the majority of Americans. It would also extend long-term unemployment benefits that were set to expire.

If the House doesn't act and the tax cuts enacted last decade expire fully, broad tax increases will kick in as will $110 billion in automatic cuts to domestic and military spending.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has predicted the combined effect could dampen economic growth and possibly tip the United States into recession.

Global financial markets watched developments in Washington closely. Wall Street, which was closed on Tuesday due to the holiday, rallied on Monday on prospects that a deal finally would be approved by a bitterly divided Congress.

"This Congress unfortunately has been most known for a unwillingness to compromise, an unwillingness to come together to act on behalf of the American people," said House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. "Today is Jan 1st. Taxes will be going up on everybody in America if we don't act."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters that Democrats were eager to see what Republicans would put on the floor.

"Up until now, (Speaker John Boehner) has said when the Senate acts, we will have a vote in the House. That is what he said. That is what we expect. That is what the American people deserve, so we look forward now ... to see what the timing will be for a straight up or down vote on what passed 89-8 last night in the United States Senate," Pelosi said.

But not all congressional Democrats were happy with the proposal. Liberals, especially, believed it was not tough enough on the rich.

Read more: 5 things to know about the fiscal cliff

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, complained that the deal "makes tax benefits for high-income earners permanent, while tax benefits designed to help those of modest means and the middle class are only extended for five years."

The plan would maintain tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 and couples earning less than $450,000.

It would raise tax rates for those over those levels -- marking the first time in two decades the rates jump for the wealthiest Americans.

The proposal would temporarily extend certain tax breaks, such as the one for college tuition, while making new tax rates permanent.

President picks up bragging rights, breaks a promise

While the deal gives President Barack Obama bragging rights for raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, it also leaves him breaking a promise.

Obama had vowed to raise tax rates for the top-earning 2% of Americans, including those with household income above $250,000, and individuals earning more than $200,000.

"What I'm not going to do is to extend Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% that we can't afford and, according to economists, will have the least positive impact on our economy," the president said at a news conference in November, after being asked by CNN why Americans should believe he would not "cave again this time" by allowing those Bush-era tax cuts to be extended.

When asked whether closing loopholes instead of raising rates would be satisfactory, the president responded, "when it comes to the top 2%, what I'm not going to do is to extend further a tax cut for folks who don't need it, which would cost close to a trillion dollars. And it's very difficult to see how you make up that trillion dollars, if we're serious about deficit reduction, just by closing loopholes in deductions. You know, the math tends not to work."

The deal passed by the Senate would cap itemized deductions for individuals making $250,000 and for married couples making $300,000.

Raising the threshold for higher tax rates to $400,000 shrinks the number of Americans affected. While nearly 2% of filers have adjusted gross incomes over $250,000, only 0.6% have incomes above $500,000, according to the Tax Policy Center.

Going over the fiscal cliff: Messages to Washington

Still, in a written statement early Tuesday, the president held on to the 98% figure he has so often touted.

The deal "protects 98% of Americans and 97% of small business owners from a middle class tax hike," he said. "While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay."

Obama also acknowledged, "There's more work to do to reduce our deficits, and I'm willing to do it. But tonight's agreement ensures that, going forward, we will continue to reduce the deficit through a combination of new spending cuts and new revenues from the wealthiest Americans."

However, many Americans are still likely to see their paychecks shrink somewhat, due to a separate battle over payroll taxes.

What the Senate proposes

Read the bill (pdf)

Under the Senate package:

-- Taxes would stay the same for most Americans. But they will increase for individuals making more than $400,000 and couples making more than $450,000. For them, it will go from the current 35% to the Clinton-era rate of 39.6%.

-- Itemized deductions would be capped for those making $250,000 and for married couples making $300,000.

-- Taxes on inherited estates will go up to 40% from 35%.

-- Unemployment insurance would be extended for a year for 2 million people.

-- The alternative minimum tax -- a perennial issue -- would be permanently adjusted for inflation.

-- Child care, tuition and research and development tax credits would be renewed.

-- The "Doc Fix" -- reimbursements for doctors who take Medicare patients -- will continue, but it won't be paid for out of the Obama administration's signature health care law.

-- A spike in milk prices will be avoided. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said milk prices would have doubled to $7 a gallon because a separate agriculture bill had expired.

What's not addressed

While the package provides some short-term certainty, it leaves a range of big issues unaddressed.

It doesn't mention the debt ceiling, and temporarily puts off for two months the automatic cuts in federal spending that would have taken effect Wednesday. It would have reduced the budgets of most agencies and programs by 8% to 10%.

This means that, come late February, Congress will have to tackle both those thorny issues.

Read more: 3 more fiscal cliffs loom

CNN's Ed Payne, Matt Smith, Mike Pearson, Jessica Yellin, Dana Bash, Deirdre Walsh, Lisa Desjardins, Ted Barrett and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.

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61 killed in post-celebration stampede in Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, Ivory CoastA crowd stampeded after leaving a New Year's fireworks show early Tuesday in Ivory Coast's main city, killing 61 people — many of them children and teenagers — and injuring more than 200, rescue workers said.

Thousands had gathered at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan's Plateau district to see the fireworks. It was only the second New Year's Eve fireworks display since peace returned to this West African nation after a bloody upheaval over presidential elections put the nation on the brink of civil war and turned this city into a battle zone.

With 2013 showing greater promise, people were in the mood to celebrate on New Year's Eve. Families brought children and they watched the rockets burst in the nighttime sky. But only an hour into the new year, as the crowds poured onto the Boulevard de la Republic after the show, something caused a stampede, said Col. Issa Sako of the fire department rescue team. How so many deaths occurred on the broad boulevard and how the tragedy started is likely to be the subject of an investigation.

Many of the younger ones in the crowd went down, trampled underfoot. Most of those killed were between 8 and 15 years old

"The flood of people leaving the stadium became a stampede which led to the deaths of more than 60 and injured more than 200," Sako told Ivory Coast state TV.

Desperate parents went to the city morgue, the hospital and to the stadium to try to find missing children. Mamadou Sanogo was searching for his 9-year-old son, Sayed.

"I have just seen all the bodies, but I cannot find my son," said a tearful Sanogo. "I don't know what to do."

State TV showed a woman sobbing in the back of an ambulance; another was bent over on the side of the street, apparently in pain; and another, barely conscious and wearing only a bra on her upper body, was hoisted by rescuers. There were also scenes of small children being treated in a hospital. One boy grimaced in pain and a girl with colored braids in her hair lay under a blanket with one hand bandaged. The death toll could rise, officials said.

After the sun came up, soldiers were patrolling the site that was littered with victims' clothes, shoes, torn sandals and other belongings. President Alassane Ouattara and his wife Dominique visited some of the injured in the hospital. Mrs. Ouattara leaned over one child who was on a bed in a crowded hospital ward and tried to console the youngster. The president pledged that the government would pay for their treatment, his office said.

The government organized the fireworks to celebrate Ivory Coast's peace, after several months of political violence in early 2011 following disputed elections.

This is not Ivory Coast's first stadium tragedy. In 2009, 22 people died and over 130 were injured in a stampede at a World Cup qualifying match at the Houphouet Boigny Stadium, prompting FIFA, soccer's global governing body, to impose a fine of tens of thousands of dollars on Ivory Coast's soccer federation. The stadium, which officially holds 35,000, was overcrowded at the time of the disaster.

A year later, two people were killed and 30 wounded in a stampede at a municipal stadium during a reggae concert in Bouake, the country's second-largest city. The concert was organized in the city, held by rebels at the time, to promote peace and reconciliation.

Ivory Coast is the world's largest cocoa producer, growing more than 37 percent of the world's annual crop of cocoa beans, which are used to make chocolate.

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House Hesitates, Cites Cliff Deal Spending

Top House Republicans today opposed a bipartisan compromise that passed the Senate in the wee hours of New Year's Day to avert the "fiscal cliff," amid concerns about the cost of the deal's spending provisions.

If House Republicans tweak the legislation, as they seem likely to do, there's no clear path for its return to the Senate before a new Congress is sworn in Thursday.

GOP leaders emerged from a morning conference meeting disenchanted by the legislative package devised by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Biden early this morning, with several insisting they cannot vote on it as it now stands.

"I do not support the bill," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said as he left the meeting. "We're looking for the best path forward. No decisions have been made yet."

It's almost certain that Republicans will attempt to amend the bill in order to win over the support of more conservatives.

House Speaker John Boehner refused to comment on the meeting, but his spokesman said "the lack of spending cuts in the Senate bill was a universal concern amongst members in today's meeting."

"Conversations with members will continue throughout the afternoon on the path forward," Brendan Buck said in a statement.

As lawmakers wrestled with the legislation, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill's added spending combined with the cost of extending tax cuts for those making under $400,000 would actually add $3.9 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. The Joint Committee on Taxation reached a similar conclusion.

Bill Clark/Roll Call/Getty Images

Fiscal Cliff Countdown: Missing the Deadline Watch Video

Obama on Fiscal Cliff: 'Agreement Within Sight' Watch Video

The impasse once again raised the specter of sweeping tax hikes on all Americans and deep spending cuts' taking effect later this week.

"This is all about time, and it's about time that we brought this to the floor," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said after emerging from a meeting with Democrats.

"It was a bill that was passed in the U.S. senate 89-8. Tell me when you've had that on a measure as controversial as this?" she said of the overwhelming vote.

Pelosi could not say, however, whether the measure had the backing of most House Democrats. "Our members are making their decisions now," she said.

Biden, who brokered the deal with McConnell, joined Democrats for a midday meeting on Capitol Hill seeking to shore up support for the plan.

While Congress technically missed the midnight Dec. 31 deadline to avert the so-called cliff, both sides have expressed eagerness to enact a post-facto fix before Americans go back to work and the stock market opens Wednesday.

"This may take a little while but, honestly, I would argue we should vote on it today," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., who sits on the Budget Committee. "We know the essential details and I think putting this thing to bed before the markets is important.

"We ought to take this deal right now and we'll live to fight another day, and it is coming very soon on the spending front."

The Senate passed legislation shortly after 2 a.m. that would extend current tax rates on 98 percent of Americans, raise taxes on the wealthiest earners and delay by two months the pending automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs, known as the "sequester."

The measure passed by an overwhelming majority vote of 89-8, boosting the prospects that enough House members would follow suit to make it law.

If the House amends the bill, however, the fragile compromise could get shattered. The Senate would need to reconvene to consider the changes.

A Senate Democratic leadership aide told ABC News, "we did our work, and McConnell's office said they were confident of House passage. All bets are off if they amend our bill."

Meanwhile, most Senators have already returned home, dismissed early this morning by Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid.

"I've said all along our most important priority is protecting middle-class Americans, this legislation does that," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said early this morning prior to the vote.

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2012 review: The year in health science

Read more: "2013 Smart Guide: 10 ideas that will shape the year"

The first half of 2012 will be remembered for the saga over whether or not to publish controversial research involving versions of the H5N1 bird flu virus engineered to spread more easily in mammals. In the end openness won out, and both contentious studies did finally see the light of day.

This was also the year that saw the battle to eradicate polio reach its crucial endgame – just as another problem, in the form of totally drug resistant tuberculosis, reared its head.

Away from infectious disease, 2012 brought us a theory on the link between Tutankhamun, epilepsy and the first monotheistic religion, and an insight into the perils of premature ageing in Italy's ominously named Triangle of Death. Here are 10 more of the year's memorable stories.

Babies are born dirty, with a gutful of bacteria
Far from being sterile, babies come complete with an army of bacteria. The finding could have implications for gut disorders and our health in general

Forensic failure: 'Miscarriages of justice will occur'
Our survey of UK forensic scientists reveals that many are concerned that closure of the Forensic Science Service will lead to miscarriages of justice

Scandal of an underfunded and undertreated cancer
Lung cancer in those who have never smoked is on the rise – but they face the same stigma as their smoking counterparts

Ovarian stem cells discovered in humans
Stem cells capable of forming new eggs could promise limitless eggs for IVF treatments, and the rejuvenation of older eggs

Paralysis breakthrough: spinal cord damage repaired
An implant helping paralysed people stand unaided suggests the spinal cord is able to recover function years after severe damage

A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan
Graham Lawton reports the highs, lows and psychedelic purple doors involved in taking MDMA while having his brain scanned

You may carry cells from siblings, aunts and uncles
Male cells found in the umbilical cord blood of baby girls with older brothers suggests fetal cells cross between mother and baby more than once thought

Can we deter athletes who self-harm to win?
The Paralympics may encourage a debate on a dangerous practice – and potential ways to prevent it

First non-hormonal male 'pill' prevents pregnancy
A non-hormonal drug that temporarily reverses male fertility appears to have few side effects in mice

Mining MRSA genetic code halts superbug outbreak
Whole genome sequencing of an MRSA outbreak has identified the person who unwittingly spread the bacteria around a hospital, stopping further infection

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

Read More..

No House vote before US 'fiscal cliff' deadline

WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives will not vote on Monday on an 11th-hour proposal to prevent the country from tottering over the so-called "fiscal cliff," a senior Republican source told AFP.

US markets will not immediately feel the shock of the failure as January 1 is a public holiday, giving lawmakers a short breathing space in which to hammer out a stop-gap deal and pass it through the Senate and House on Tuesday.

Lawmakers worked feverishly through the night to hammer out a deal that would raise tax rates on the wealthy but preserve tax breaks for the middle class and maintain some key stimulus benefits like unemployment insurance.

At the end of the day Monday, while President Barack Obama and lawmakers acknowledged they were close, there was still no finalised deal between Senate Republicans and Democrats, including Vice President Joe Biden who is now playing a key part in negotiations.

"We don't have anything to vote on," the senior House Republican source said, referring to the lack of any bill in the Senate.

There was "no chance they pass something early enough that we could (vote) before midnight, even if we wanted to," he said.

Another House Republican source sought to downplay the fact that lawmakers were missing their self-imposed deadline.

"If a deal is reached, there's little difference between a vote tonight or tomorrow to give members a chance to review," the source said.

Some would argue there is a very clear distinction.

Passing a measure on New Year's Eve would mean Republicans - who by and large oppose raising taxes on anyone - vote for a tax hike on the wealthy.

If they wait until January 1, when the tax cuts first enacted under president George W. Bush expire and rates go up on everyone, Republicans could then turn around and vote to reduce taxes on the middle class.

As for whether the Senate could get it together to at least present a bipartisan deal before the year end, the number-two Republican in the chamber was non-committal.

"I don't know" if a Monday night vote was still possible, Senator Jon Kyl told AFP.

The Republican caucus was going to "try to get together here before long, and at least review the bidding and see where we are," he said.

"A lot of progress has been made, and I think it's obvious that we either have to have something finished here very soon or it's not going to happen."

- AFP/de

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Over the fiscal cliff we go -- at least for tonight

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The fiscal cliff is nigh, but a deal is "very, very close," Senate GOP leader says


• Obama says more work will be needed and chides Congress for dragging its feet


• A possible agreement calls for increase in income, estate taxes


• The fiscal cliff triggers broad tax increases and an automatic $110 billion in spending cuts

As the fiscal cliff looms, what's your New Year's message to Washington? Go to CNN iReport to share your video.

(CNN) -- The feared fiscal cliff was at hand Monday night, with nothing expected to pass Congress before a combination of tax increases and spending cuts starts to kick in at midnight.

A deal to avert that combination, which economists warn could push the U.S. economy back into recession, was "within sight" on Monday afternoon, President Barack Obama said. And in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told members that they were "very, very close" to a deal, having worked out an agreement on taxes.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said senators "are hoping to vote tonight" on some package to avert the cliff. But the House of Representatives adjourned without voting on anything Monday -- and Obama's remarks earlier Monday, in which he chided Congress and warned that battles over spending still loomed, hit a nerve among several Republicans in the Senate.

"They are close, but they're not there yet," Obama said. "And one thing we can count on with respect to this Congress is that if there is even one second left before you have to do what you're supposed to do, they will use that last second."

Obama said the deal now on the table would prevent a tax increase for the overwhelming majority of Americans, extend the child tax and tuition credits for families as well as those for clean-energy companies, and extend unemployment benefits for 2 million people. But even then, he said lawmakers still have to figure out how to mitigate the possible damage from sharp spending cuts that are scheduled to start biting January 2, when the federal government reopens after the New Year's holiday.

And he warned that if Republicans think they can get future deficit reduction solely through spending cuts "that will hurt seniors, or hurt students, or hurt middle-class families without asking also equivalent sacrifice from millionaires or companies with a lot of lobbyists ... they've got another think coming."

Latest updates: Final fiscal cliff scramble

That combative talk drew anger from Republican senators who have been grappling for a deal with the Democratic majority in that chamber. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, called the president's comments "very unbecoming of where we are at this moment" and added, "My heart's still pounding."

"I know the president has fun heckling Congress," Corker said. "I think he lost probably numbers of votes with what he did."

And Sen. John McCain said Obama "sent a message of confrontation to Republicans" with his remarks.

"People have to wonder whether the president really wants issue resolved, or is it in his short-term political benefit for us to go over the cliff," said McCain, R-Arizona.

Read more: Why your paycheck is getting smaller, no matter what

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has predicted the combined effect of the tax increases and budget "sequestration" -- across-the-board budget cuts set up as part of the 2011 standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling -- could dampen economic growth by 0.5%. That could tip the U.S. economy into a recession and driving unemployment from its current 7.7% back over 9%, the CBO estimated.

The tax proposals under discussion late Monday call for rolling back tax rates on the highest-income earners to Clinton-era levels, increasing the estate tax rate, extending unemployment benefits and potentially putting off the $110 billion in automatic spending cuts called for in the legislation that created the cliff, according to sources close to the process.

A source familiar with the negotiations said the proposal under discussion would generate $600 billion in revenues by ending the Bush-era tax cuts on individuals with incomes above $400,000 and families over $450,000. Their tax rate would be 39.6%, the same as it was in 2000 during President Bill Clinton's presidency. The top income rate is currently 35%.

The deal would also increase the estate tax to 40% from the current 35% level and cap itemized deductions for individuals with incomes above $250,000 and household income over $300,000, the source said.

Read more: What if there's no deal on fiscal cliff

In the House, GOP sources said there's little practical difference in settling the issue Monday night versus Tuesday. But if House Republicans approve the bill on Tuesday -- when taxes have technically gone up -- they can argue they've voted for a tax cut to bring rates back down, even after just a few hours, GOP sources said. That could bring some more Republicans on board, one source said.

Earlier, a GOP source told CNN that the sticking point in talks was $24 billion in spending cuts being sought by Republicans in place of deeper cuts.

"It's like looking under the cushions at this point," the source said. "If we can't find that at this point, we should pack this place up."

As Monday's deadline drew nigh, federal agencies were preparing for the possibility of furloughing workers. At the Pentagon, a Defense Department official said as many as 800,000 civilian employees could be forced to take unpaid days off as the armed services face an expected $62 billion in cuts in 2013 -- about 12% of its budget.

Read more: Medicare patients may suffer if country goes over fiscal cliff

Those workers perform support tasks across the department, from maintaining aircraft and weapons systems to processing military payrolls and counseling families. The Pentagon believes it can operate for at least two months before any furloughs are necessary, but has to warn its civilian workforce that furloughs could be coming, the official said.

The White House budget office noted in September that sequestration was designed in 2011 as "a mechanism to force Congress to act on further deficit reduction" -- a kind of doomsday device that was never meant to be triggered. But Congress failed to substitute other cuts by the end of 2012, forcing the government to wield what the budget office called "a blunt and indiscriminate instrument."

Republicans want a three-month delay, while Democrats seek to forestall the cuts by one year, a Democratic source told CNN. Another Democratic source said the proposed three-month delay "can't pass."

Despite Obama's backing, one leading Senate Democrat warned a deal could run into trouble -- not only from House Republicans who have long opposed any tax increase, but also from liberals in the Senate who oppose allowing more high-income households to escape a tax increase.

"No deal is better than a bad deal, and this looks like a very bad deal the way this is shaping up," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said.

Graham on fiscal cliff: Obama wins 'hollow' political victory

CNN's Mike Pearson, Jessica Yellin, Dana Bash, Deirdre Walsh, Lisa Desjardins, Ted Barrett and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.

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New technology to keep drunk drivers from driving

(CBS News) CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The message from police to party-goers this New Year's Eve is: "Drive sober or get pulled over."

There were nearly 10,000 deaths from drunk driving in the U.S. last year, down 2.5 percent from the year before.

There is now a debate over technology that could prevent drunk drivers from starting their engines.

Meredith and Matt Eastridge, in an undated photo

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CBS News

On October 29, 2010, Matt and Meredith Eastridge were pregnant with their first child, a son.

The same night, David Huffman spent the last two hours of his life getting drunk. He put away the equivalent of 15 drinks, each one recorded on a security camera.

The 25-year-old stumbled out of the Charlotte bar and three minutes later, Matt and Meredith Eastridge were critically injured when Huffman, with a blood alcohol content of .23 and driving 100 miles per hour, hurtled into their SUV.

"I remember saying look at that, look at that car. That was the last thing i remember" before being hit head-on, Meredith said.

Six months pregnant, Meredith lost their baby.

"I think about him every day, how old he would be and what he would be doing," Meredith said.

"There were multiple times in that night this tragedy could have been avoided," Matt said.

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Bud Zaouk is leading a research team creating technology that could help save 10,000 lives a year.

"One is breath-based and the other is touch-based. The idea is to develop a sensor that could detect if anyone is above the legal limit of .08 and prevent them from moving the vehicle and driving," Bud said.

With the touch-based detector, "you press the start button and it starts the vehicle. And it will be a small infrared light that shines inside the finger," Bud said.

The infra-red light looks for alcohol in the finger's tissue.

"Alcohol has its own unique optical signature," Bud said, and if the optical signature registers above .08, "then the vehicle prevents you from moving."

The sensor in the breath-based approach is located around the steering wheel.

"That infra-red light excited the molecules and allows you to find out how much alcohol you have in the breath. It's non-contact, non-invasive," Bud said.

The $10 million funding for Bud Zaouk's project is split between 16 carmakers and the federal government.

However, it's opposed by the American Beverage Institute, which represents 8,000 chain restaurants in the U.S.

The group made the following statement: "Drunk driving fatalities are at historically low levels. We shouldn't try to solve what's left of the drunk driving problem by targeting all Americans with alcohol sensing technology."

Bud Zaouk said the technology still needs work.

"I think at this stage we are probably looking at eight to 10 years, when you would start seeing it inside vehicles," Bud said.

The Eastridges now have a daughter, Sloane. They hope this technology will be standard in new cars by the time she is old enough to drive.

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