No fiscal deal yet, US Congress leaders say
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - United States (US) congressional leaders said on Sunday they remain deadlocked over some "pretty big issues" in their last-gasp bid to craft a year-end deal to stop the economy sliding off the so-called "fiscal cliff."
Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told a special Senate session that on Saturday night he had put forward his latest offer on a deal to prevent huge tax hikes and alleviate deep spending cuts due to kick in on Jan 1.
Having "yet to receive a response to our good faith offer" from the Senate Democratic majority, Mr McConnell said he had called Vice-President Joe Biden in an effort to "jump-start" negotiations.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged that the talks remained at a standstill, raising the prospect that Americans will ring in the New Year with no deal to avert the fiscal cliff.
