WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is making clear what everyone in Washington suspects — a deal to avert 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 House is moving ahead with votes Thursday on a GOP plan to raise taxes on people earning over $1 million a year. Reid says 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.