Hey, I'm Kelly McEvers and this is Embedded from NPR

December 30th, 2012

The United States was about to go over this thing called the fiscal cliff and

Without going into too much boring budgetary detail

What that meant was if Congress didn't do something before midnight on New Year's Eve

There would be these massive tax increases and spending cuts all the same time

Which could put the country into a recession?

Democrats wanted to tax anyone who made over $250,000 a year

Republicans wouldn't allow a tax increase even on people who made more than a million a year

Negotiations stopped

Mitch McConnell was the ranking Republican in the Senate at the time and he picked up the phone and called the one person he thought could help

Someone he had worked with in the Senate

Joe Biden who was flying on Air Force 2

So McConnell left Biden a voicemail the voicemail

According to Mitch McConnell the voicemail said is there anyone over there who knows how to make a deal

Over there meaning the White House

This is Janet hook National Political Reporter at the LA Times. She's covered Congress since the 80s

What I like particularly is the kind of bossy rest of the message

This is McConnell to Biden. I need you to get up to speed on this Joe get off the plane

Think about things and call me in an hour

So vice president the United States Wow

And then McConnell after placing that call McConnell goes to the Senate floor and announces that he's trying to break the log jam and that he called Joe Biden

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