Congress may have passed a deal to avert the self-inflicted “fiscal cliff” crisis Tuesday night, but you might want to hold off on celebrating. Another gridlock could be here in a couple of months.
Missouri lawmakers were divided on the deal. Missouri’s Democrats joined Republican Senator Roy Blunt and Representatives Blaine Luetkemeyer and Jo Ann Emerson in voting in favor of the bill.
Below you can see how Missouri's representatives voted. Both Senator Blunt and McCaskill voted in favor of the deal.
View Fiscal Cliff Votes in a larger map
Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill said the deal wasn't perfect, but "compromise requires a give-and-take."
But hold off on putting the so-called “fiscal cliff” behind you, Congress could be in a similar situation in a couple months over the debt ceiling – the legal borrowing limit.
President Barack Obama has said he won’t negotiate on whether or not the U.S. will pay back the bills they’ve racked up. Blunt says the president will have to.
“The president is not totally reasonable on this topic," Blunt told reporters in a conference call. "Why would you give the president legislative authority just because President Obama says he’d like to have it?”
Blunt says Republicans will insist a rise in the debt ceiling will have to come with spending cuts.
"Almost every member in the House and Senate has seen that movie on President Lincoln," Blunt said. "And the message of that movie is hard things are solved when presidents lead, and very seldom do you get everything you want."
Follow Chris McDaniel on Twitter: @csmcdaniel
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