Barack Obama hails fiscal cliff deal as House vote looms 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," Obama said. The Senate's vote moved the US economy back from the edge of a so-called fiscal cliff, but the deal could still face stiff challenges in the House of Representatives. Under the deal voted for by the Senate, some taxes on the wealthy will be raised while low taxes on the middle class, which have been in place for a decade, were made permanent. But the measures did little to rein in huge annual budget deficits that have helped push the US debt to $16.4trn. The agreement came too late for Congress to meet its own deadline of New Year's Eve for passing laws to halt $600bn in tax rises and spending cuts which strictly speaking came into force on Tuesday. But with the New Year's Day holiday, there was no real world impact and Congress still had time to draw up legislation, approve it and backdate it to avoid the harsh fiscal measures. That will need the backing of the House where many of the Republicans who control the chamber complain that President Obama has shown little interest in cutting government spending and is too concerned with raising taxes. Members were thankful that financial markets were closed, giving them a second chance to return to try to head off the fiscal cliff. But if politicians cannot pass legislation in the coming days, markets are likely to turn sour. The US economy, still recovering from the 2008/2009 downturn, could stall again if Congress fails to fix the budget mess.