The House of Representatives will vote today on two measures to shield families and small businesses from the looming “fiscal cliff” by cutting spending and protecting millions from tax hikes. These bills are:

• The Spending Reduction Act of 2012 (H.R. 6684) replaces the president’s defense ‘sequester’ with common-sense spending cuts and reforms, and reduces the deficit by approximately $200 billion more than the original sequester. The bill focuses on stopping waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs, eliminating government slush funds (including an ObamaCare slush fund), and reducing waste and duplication in government bureaucracies. The House passed this bill in May but Senate Democrats never took action. Learn more about it here.
• The Permanent Tax Relief for Families and Small Businesses Act of 2012 (H.J. Res. 66) permanently protects millions of taxpayers from President Obama’s tax rate hikes. The bill permanently extends current tax rates for everyone making less than $1 million, the $1,000 child tax credit, expensing relief for small businesses, and much more. Analysis by the nonpartisan JCT found it is a $3.9 trillion tax cut. As Speaker John Boehner said yesterday, the president can “call on Senate Democrats to pass [this] bill, or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history.”  Learn more about it here.

While the White House slow-walks us all to the edge of the fiscal cliff, Republicans are once again taking action to protect American families, our economy, and our national security.