Pa. senators voted yea on “fiscal cliff” deal

As the country was ringing in the New Year, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to steer clear of the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Late Tuesday night, the U.S. House approved the legislation, sending it to President Obama for signage.

Pennsylvania Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey can agree on at least one thing: The deal isn’t perfect. But they voted for it anyway.

The legislation, which passed 89 to 8 in the Senate, raises taxes on individuals earning more than $400,000. It also temporarily suspends automatic budget cuts.

Casey (D-Pennsylvania) says the estate tax didn’t go up enough. Under the bill, there’s a 40 percent tax for inheritances over $5 million.

“They were far too generous for the super wealthy,” said Casey. “But that’s one of the compromises that we had to make.”

Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) would’ve rather not voted to raise taxes for wealthy Americans.

“Unfortunately, we had no chance, I had no chance, of being able to succeed,” Toomey said. “So, in the end, what I was able to do was vote for a package that spares 99 percent of all Americans from the tax increase that would otherwise happen.”