WASHINGTON, DC-Technically we entered the new year in a fiscal cliff free fall. But early Tuesday morning, hours after the mdinight deadline, the US Senate passed measures that would divert that economic disaster. And while the timing was a cliffhanger, the 89-to-8 Senate vote was certainly anything but.

Now it is up to the House to drive the hard-fought economic measures into law. That vote is expected to come either New Year's day or Wednesday. Apparently the upshot of the weeks of wrangling that preceeded the vote ended with no political side getting everything it wanted.

According to various news sources, the legislation now awaiting a House vote would put off budget cuts for two months and preserve Bush-era income tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 or couples earning less than $450,000.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that the deal "would also set the estate-tax rate at 40% on estates over $5 million; currently there's a 35% rate for estates over $5.12 million. The deal would delay for two months part of the $110 billion in spending cuts that otherwise would have taken place in early January—cuts that would be replaced by tax increases and cuts in other programs."

Stay tuned to GlobeSt.com as we follow the economic drama unfolding on Capitol Hill and provide industry reaction throughout the week.

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Senate Votes Us Back From the Edge of the Cliff

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