A Look Back at the Fiscal Cliff, in Pictures

President Bush, surrounded by lawmakers, signs his $1.35 trillion tax cut bill Thursday, June 7, 2001 at the White House in Washington. The bill fufills Bush's camapaign promise and shall immediately benefit every American who pays income taxes but will require years to take full effect.  (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., center, and other Republican House leaders react to President Obama's speech on a federal spending plan, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 13, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the "supercommittee," holds its first organizational meeting after being created out of the bipartisan compromise on the debt ceiling crisis in August, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, speaks to the Republican National Committee's elections night party after it was announced the Republicans would maintain control of the House of Representatives.  (Chet Susslin)

President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden wave at his election night party Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, in Chicago. (Photo/Chris Carlson)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., second from left, accompanied by, from left, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., gestures as he speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, following a meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the economy and the deficit.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, right, speaks as President Barack Obama meets with members of the National Governors Association (NGA), regarding the fiscal cliff, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio walks to a closed-door Republican strategy session, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Speaking about the fiscal cliff, Boehner said Wednesday that the White House had failed to offer a "balanced approach" that had a chance of clearing either chamber of Congress. "We can't negotiate with ourselves".  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Speaker John Boehner points to a chart to emphasize his talking point that government spending complicates the negotiations on avoiding the so-called "fiscal cliff," during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - This Nov. 16, 2012 file photo shows President Barack Obama, accompanied by House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, speaking to reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, as he hosted a meeting of the bipartisan, bicameral leadership of Congress to discuss the deficit and economy in Washington. President Barack Obama and leaders of the lame-duck Congress may be just weeks away from shaking hands on a deal to avert the dreaded ``fiscal cliff.’’ So it’s natural to wonder: If they announce a bipartisan package promising to curb mushrooming federal deficits, will it be real?  (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, joined by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, left, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., right, finish a news conference about the fiscal cliff negotiations following a closed-door GOP strategy session, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. arrives at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, for a closed-door meeting between President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders to negotiate the framework for a deal on the fiscal cliff.  The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts.   (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell departs the Strom Thurmond room after a Senate Republican caucus meeting about the fiscal cliff, on Capitol Hill on Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The lights of the U.S. Capitol remain lit into the night as the House continues to work on the "fiscal cliff" legislation proposed by the Senate, in Washington, on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio (right) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., (left) walk to a second Republican conference meeting to discuss the "fiscal cliff" bill passed by the Senate Monday night at the Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Obama smiles as he arrives with Vice President Joe Biden to make a statement regarding the passage of the fiscal cliff bill in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013.  (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)