Will the U.S. economy fall off the "fiscal cliff" at the end of 2012? The National Journal hosted a series of panel discussions with leading authorities and political leaders on the options available to Congress and the White House to avert a financial meltdown in the new year.
If Congress cannot break the deadlock, January 2013 will see the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts and the launch of automatic spending cuts, including $500B in defense budgets over a decade, put in place by the debt ceiling agreement. Economists predict that these cuts will lead to a deep recession that will worsen the slowing global economy.
Participants included: Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), vice ranking member on the House Budget Committee, and Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), Republican chief deputy whip. They offered a perspective on the standoff in the U.S. House from both sides of the aisle.