Fed Chairman Says Nation Headed for a Cliff

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress it risked taking the nation over a “massive fiscal cliff” at the end of the year, The Hill reports.

He warned expiring tax cuts and spending cuts set to be triggered at the end of the year could hurt the economic recovery.

Said Bernanke: “All those things are hitting on the same day, basically. It’s quite a big event.”

“This year’s lame-duck session of Congress is expected to be one of the busiest in history given the expiring tax cuts and the spending cuts, which were triggered by the supercommittee’s failure last year to agree to a deficit-cutting plan. Congress will also need to raise the debt ceiling quickly after Election Day.”