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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Top Democrat wants quick deal on 'fiscal cliff'

Reid; 'I'm not for kicking the can down the road'

Updated: Wednesday, 07 Nov 2012, 11:52 AM CST
Published : Wednesday, 07 Nov 2012, 11:52 AM CST

ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top Democrat in Congress is calling for a quick solution to Washington's "fiscal cliff' in an upcoming post-election session.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he's "not for kicking the can down the road" and says any solution should include higher taxes on "the richest of the rich."

The so-called fiscal cliff is the one-two punch of expiring Bush-era tax cuts and across-the-board spending cuts to the Pentagon and domestic programs that could total $800 billion next year.

It's the most immediate item confronting President Barack Obama and a divided Congress in a post-election lame duck session. Economists say it threatens to push the economy back into recession if Obama and Republicans can't forge a deal to prevent it.