House members were gathering Tuesday to decide whether they would go along with the Senate's approval of a last-minute deal to pull the U.S. back from the so-called fiscal cliff.

Senators passed a bipartisan agreement in the middle of the night that would raise income taxes on single earners with annual incomes above $400,000 and married couples with incomes above $450,000. It would also block spending cuts for two months, extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, prevent a 27 percent cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients and prevent a spike in milk prices.

Vice President Joe Biden, who brokered the deal with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, was expected to personally lobby House Democrats to get behind the arrangement when they met at noon ET. 

House Speaker John Boehner was scheduled to brief House Republicans on the agreement at 1 p.m. ET. Boehner's deputy, Republican leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, said no decision had yet been made on whether the House would vote on the measure.