With hours remaining, hopes rise for stopgap fiscal deal
![Reuters](http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/EL70dO7KbbHwnSI5nJkNUA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9Zml0O2g9Mjc-/http://media.zenfs.com/284/2011/06/21/reuters-85x27_113626.gif)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hopes rose on Sunday that lawmakers could reach at least a limited deal to prevent the still-recovering economy from tumbling off a "fiscal cliff" at the New Year, sending the country into another recession.
Aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell worked on a compromise over the weekend to stop automatic tax hikes for most Americans on January 1. Any agreement needs to be rushed through both chambers of Congress before midnight on Monday.
The main focus of negotiations was tax hikes on the wealthy, an increase sought by President Barack Obama but opposed by Republicans, particularly fiscal conservatives in the House of Representatives.