An additional note on the House fiscal cliff vote last night: This was NOT a vote for a tax increase. This was NOT a spending bill. In fact, it was a tax policy bill and a vote for a massive, permanent tax cut that locks in lower rates for 98% of Americans. Tax rates for ALL Americans went up at midnight on Jan 1, 2013 - that was the law of the land. The House passed legislation to LOWER tax rates to 01/03 levels permanently, something that eluded Republicans even when they controlled the House, Senate, and White House. Now that we have locked in the amount of revenue government can bring in, we can fight for real spending cuts as we continue to try to balance our budget and reduce our debt. There will be opportunities to reduce spending in the near future (debt limit and appropriations bills) and I am as committed as ever to enacting the most meaningful spending cuts we can get given our divided government.