Cantor: House to reconvene on Sunday at 6:30p

Story by The Hill
Written by Daniel Strauss

The House will come back into session Sunday night, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) announced over Twitter Thursday.

Cantor's message confirmed what The Hill had learned earlier from a GOP leadership aide.

"The House will return for legislative business on Sunday December 30. First votes are expected at 6:30 p.m.," Cantor tweeted. The aide added that the House may remain in session through Jan. 2, noting that the 113th Congress will be sworn in the day after.

On private conference call with Republican members Thursday, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reiterated what he and other GOP leaders had said publicly, which is that the House had acted on a pair of bills that would avert the "fiscal cliff," both when it comes to expiring tax cuts and automatic spending cuts set to take effect. He also said that it was up to the Senate to amend those bills and return them to the House if not acceptable as is.

"Once this has occurred, the House will the consider whether to accept the bills as amended, or to send them back to the Senate with additional amendments," Boehner said, according to someone on the call. "The House will take this action on whatever the Senate can pass — but the Senate must act."

The news that the House will reconvene comes as legislators continue to try and hammer out a "fiscal cliff" deal to avoid tax rate increases and spending cuts.

On Thursday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), speaking on his chamber's floor, said a deal seemed unlikely before the end-of-year deadline.

"I have to be honest — I don’t know, time-wise, how it can happen now," Reid said.