Van Hollen: Boehner stringing out ‘fiscal cliff’ talks because of GOP politics

With less than three weeks until the U.S. economy falls off the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee said Congress needs to act quickly to beat the deadline.

But he’s not holding his breath.

“I would say you’ve certainly got to get something by Christmas if you want to practically get it done by the end of the year,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said, adding that, ideally, some outline should be in place by the end of the week to prevent negotiations from spilling over into the holiday season. “I don’t assign a high probability to the end of the week, but I do assign a high  hope.”

Van Hollen addressed members of the media at a breakfast organized by the Christian Science Monitor this morning at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C.

During the breakfast, Van Hollen said  House Speaker John Boehner might have to bring a plan to the table that could pass without majority support from the Republican caucus — something he has been unwilling to do in the first two years of his speakership. Van Hollen expressed concern as to whether Boehner, an Ohio Republican, would make such a move before the official vote for his re-election as House Speaker on Jan. 3.

Moving forward without support from a majority of a Republicans in the House would violate the “majority of the majority doctrine,” a recent Republican governing principle that says the Speaker of the House won’t move forward with an action if it doesn’t have the support of a majority of GOP lawmakers, even if it has the backing of a majority of all House members.

This is also referred to as the Hastert Rule, named after former speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who pioneered the practice.

“I’m getting increasingly concerned that one of the reasons why the speaker has decided to string out these discussions is that he wants to wait until Jan. 3 when the election for Speaker takes place,” Van Hollen said. “He’s concerned that any agreement he reaches, if it violated the so-called Hastert Rule, could undermine for him and his caucus and would make it more difficult for him Jan. 3.

“I would hope he would be the interest of getting an agreement before House Republican politics.”

Van Hollen said he believes Congress will pass the tax cuts on middle income families before the end of the year, which he estimates will solve many  of the most crucial aspects of the so-called fiscal cliff.

“The biggest tax increase happens if we do nothing,” he said.