WASHINGTON (December 20, 2012)—U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made it clear Thursday that a deal to avert a plunge off the so-called fiscal cliff before Christmas is unlikely.

Reid said on the Senate floor Thursday that lawmakers will be back the Thursday after Christmas, Dec. 27.

The U.S. House was moving ahead with votes Thursday on a GOP plan to raise taxes on people earning more than $1 million a year.

Reid said that's a non-starter in the Senate, and the White House has threatened a veto.

Negotiations between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner so far have produced no deal to avoid the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that kick in after the first of the year.