JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The House of Representatives now gets to decide the next move on the fiscal cliff. The Senate passed a bill early Tuesday morning, but late Wednesday, House Republican leader Eric Cantor says he opposes that agreement.
Local taxpayers say they are waiting for a compromise and are already disappointed in how long it has taken lawmakers to strike a deal.
Marcus Green teaches at a magnet school in Duval County. Green says if he was to grade Congress, every member in the Senate and House would get an F because he doesn't accept late assignments. “It's been going on for so long and if they haven't come to a decision yet, then I don't think it'll be accomplished by the end of the day."
Vice President Joe Biden negotiated the deal with Senate Republicans over the weekend.
The agreement makes Bush-era tax cuts permanent for individuals making under $400,000 a year and families making under $450,000. It also postpones harsh across the board spending cuts for a few months.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson told Action News in a statement Tuesday, "Finally, bipartisanship has prevailed. Now it's up to the house to do the same."
But not all senators signed off on the 157-page bill.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was one of only eight who voted no on the measure. Action News has learned that all eight are up for re-election in 2016.
Rubio is widely considered in the running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Some Washington insiders say his opposition means he's positioning for a play at the White House.
Rubio told Action News, "I appreciate all the hard work that went into avoiding the so-called 'fiscal cliff’… Nevertheless, I cannot support the arrangement they have arrived at. Rapid economic growth and spending reforms are the only way out of the real fiscal cliff our nation is facing."
Lawmakers missed the Jan. 1 deadline, but the bill will be retroactive. Many taxpayers, like Green, are frustrated lawmakers waited so long to act. “My message would be to just get it done, get it done.”
If the House amends the Senate's version of the bill, it goes back to the Senate for another vote.
