The deal that seems possible to fix the U.S. budget is getting smaller and smaller.

Five days before a deadline that would trigger more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts that could cause a U.S. recession, Congress will return Dec. 27 amid calls for action in the Senate.

The politics of progress there are easier than in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which balked last week at Speaker John Boehner's plan for tax increases on income above $1 million. Still, the House would have to sign off next. Boehner and President Barack Obama have been unable to agree on the tax-rate increase on top earners Obama wants or the cuts to entitlement programs that Boehner sought, complicating the chances of getting a package done.