Congress Must Fix ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Soon: Honeywell CEO

If politicians don’t start talking about fixing the "fiscal cliff," there’s a chance nothing will get done, David Cote, Honeywell CEO, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”

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The fiscal cliff is when a host of tax cuts expire and automatic spending cuts go into effect at the end of the year.

Earlier Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) toldFederal Reservechairman Ben Bernanke during his monetary policy testimony that it’s unlikely Congress will address the problem before election and that the Fed will have to act alone to spur economic growth.

(Related: Congress, Not the Fed, Needs to 'Get to Work').

"The Fed's the only game in town," Schumer said.

Honeywell's CEO said politicians need to start addressing the problem. “And CEOs need to speak up so politicians understand how important this is to resolving the uncertainty that’s felt by businesses everywhere today," he said.

Cote added he’s convinced “unless this gets discussed in the presidential election, there’s a good chance it doesn’t get resolved at all.”

A solution will need “to comprise both revenue increases through a simplified tax system but also reducing the amount of money we spend on Medicare and Medicaidbecause it’s unsustainable,” he said. “We need to do this thoughtfully and the voters need to push on our politicians.”