With the fiscal cliff deadline drawing ever close, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virg., announced Thursday that the House of Representatives will reconvene Sunday evening.
Cantor informed the Republican members of the House of the plan in a conference call and later confirmed the news on Twitter, saying the first votes are expected at 6:30 p.m.
The news about the last minute session in the House has generated some optimism about the possibility of lawmakers reaching an eleventh-hour deal.
However, Republican leaders have previously said that the Senate must act first, arguing that the House has acted on two bills that collectively would avert entire fiscal cliff.
"If the Senate will not approve and send them to the president to be signed into law in their current form, they must be amended and returned to the House," Republican House leaders said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
They added, "Once this has occurred, the House will then consider whether to accept the bills as amended, or to send them back to the Senate with additional amendments. The House will take this action on whatever the Senate can pass, but the Senate first must act."
The announcement of the House reconvening comes on the heels of pessimistic comments from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who said it "looks like" the country is headed over the fiscal cliff in a speech on the Senate floor.
Reid sought to blame House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, for the predicament and once again urged the Republican leader to allow the House to vote on a Senate-approved bill extending the tax cuts on income up to $250,000 a year.
Unless Congress acts, approximately $600 billion in automatic tax increases and government spending cuts are due to go into effect at the end of the year.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.