Starbucks to expand 'fiscal-cliff' campaign

Starbucks is expanding a campaign to encourage Congress to reach a "fiscal-cliff" deal.

Baristas at a number of Starbucks locations in Washington, D.C., have been writing "Come Together" on coffee cups to encourage lawmakers to reach a deal ahead of the year-end deadline to prevent tax-rate increases and spending cuts. A spokesman for the coffee chain said Friday that the company would be expanding its effort to locations outside of Washington.

"Stores from across the country have been asking if they could join in and we have been saying 'absolutely yes,'" Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson said in an email according to Reuters. "Based on this unprecedented response, we are inviting all of our partners at U.S. stores to start signing their customers' cups with Come Together through next Friday."

On Wednesday, Starbucks publicized a letter from CEO Howard Schultz to employees about the Come Together effort.

"In the spirit of the Holiday season and the Starbucks tradition of bringing people together, we have a unique opportunity to unite and take action on an incredibly important topic," Schultz wrote in the letter. "Rather than be bystanders, we have an opportunity — and I believe a responsibility — to use our company’s scale for good by sending a respectful and optimistic message to our elected officials to come together and reach common ground on this important issue."

President Obama and Congress are scrambling to make a deal before the end of the year. The  president met with the top two Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate on Friday. After the meeting Obama and the legislators separately expressed optimism that a deal could still be made.

The House and Senate are set to convene on Sunday in case Republicans and Democrats agree on a bill and need to move swiftly to pass it through both chambers.

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