Obama signs fiscal cliff bill into law

President Barack Obama has signed into law the bill to avert the fiscal cliff.

The new law preserves the Bush-era tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 and couples making less than $450,000 per year, and extends unemployment benefits.

The Senate passed the bill Tuesday morning and the House passed it Tuesday night.

The White House received a copy of the bill late Wednesday afternoon, a senior administration official told CNN. Obama, on vacation with his family in Hawaii, directed the bill be signed by autopen.