WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says that "absolutely the tax issue is behind us" as a result of the "fiscal cliff" deal and that it's now time to focus solely on confronting what he calls "our spending addiction."

He says it shouldn't require a crisis for President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in the Senate to address federal spending and the future of big entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

The Kentucky Republican tells ABC's "This Week" that waiting until the last minute of a deadline — as was the case with the fiscal cliff — is no way to run the government.