美国议员将就财政悬崖问题做最后一刻谈判

U.S. lawmakers reconvene Monday for last-minute talks to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of sharp tax increases and spending cuts that would take effect January 1.

Any agreement would likely first pass through the Senate, which goes into session just before midday, after extensive talks Sunday yielded little progress.

Vice President Joe Biden held negotiations with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, as Democrats and Republicans tried to resolve their differences over tax rates for the rich and federal spending cuts.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Sunday the divide was "significant," while McConnell said the sticking point appeared to be "a willingness, an interest or courage" among lawmakers to arrive at an agreement.

If the Democrat-controlled Senate votes for a compromise deal, the Republican-led House would have to approve the measure. The president could then sign it late Monday, avoiding having automatic tax increases on nearly all Americans kick in Tuesday.美国国会议员们星期一将继续开会，就避免财政悬崖进行最后一刻的谈判。所谓“财政悬崖”，就是从明年1月1号开始生效的大幅增税和削减开支。

任何协议都很可能首先在参议院获得通过。参议院在中午前开始举行会议，此前于星期天进行了广泛的讨论，但几乎没有取得任何进展。

美国副总统拜登与参议院少数党领袖麦康奈尔进行了谈判，与此同时，民主党人和共和党人试图解决彼此之间围绕富人增税以及削减联邦政府开支问题的分歧。

参议院多数党领袖里德星期天说，双方存在重大分歧，而麦康奈尔则表示，主要问题在于议员们是否具有达成协议的意愿、兴趣和勇气。

如果民主党控制的参议院表决通过一项妥协方案，该方案还需要在共和党控制的众议院获得通过。随后，奥巴马总统就可以在星期一晚间签署，以避免星期二自动开始对几乎所有美国人增税。