Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The House is likely to pass an economic stimulus measure as large as $1 trillion by President- elect Barack Obama’s inauguration, predicted top Democrat Chris Van Hollen, who invited Republicans to help craft it.

“Our goal is, of course, to try to get this on his desk that day,” said Van Hollen of Maryland, an adviser to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a liaison between Congress and Obama’s transition team. “That may not be possible, but this is an urgent situation.”

The measure probably won’t also get through the Senate by the Jan. 20 inauguration, Van Hollen, who also chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in an interview on “Political Capital with Al Hunt” on Bloomberg Television.

Van Hollen, 49, who has participated in all high-level deliberations with the Obama transition team, said no final figure has been reached and the range could be from $700 billion to $1 trillion.

Obama is seeking the funds for roads, bridges, power grids and other public works projects. Van Hollen said the stimulus measure -- the largest in U.S. history -- will include tax breaks for middle-class taxpayers and also likely will allow business investments to be deducted more quickly.

He said he favors public works spending geared toward projects likely to boost U.S. manufacturing sales, rather than a “buy American” mandate.

Van Hollen said that while House Democrats will hold hearings on the plan, it will be an “expedited process.” He said Republicans, who are seeking full committee hearings and a week of review after the legislation is written, should heed the call of voters who just handed Democrats gains in both chambers.

‘A Choice’

“The Republicans have a choice that they’ve got to make coming out of this election, and that is, what lessons did they learn?” Van Hollen said. “I’m hopeful that the Republicans will choose” to work with Democrats on the measure.

House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said in a statement today that he was concerned there may be “little debate or public scrutiny” of the measure. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said, “Every dollar needs to be spent wisely and not wasted in the rush to get it spent.”

Congress begins a new two-year session on Jan. 6. House Democrats plan an informal hearing of Democratic leaders and committee chairmen the following day to hear from economists about the need for legislation to help jump-start the economy.

Van Hollen said the legislation will include a mix of traditional, “shovel-ready” public works projects and longer-term investments in environmentally friendly programs and broadband technologies.

‘Immediate Needs’

“I don’t think there’s a conflict between the two,” he said. “You want to get the shovel-ready projects going because there are immediate needs for that and you get the money into the economic bloodstream right away.”

“But you don’t want to say no to an investment that may have a little longer payout period,” Van Hollen said. “This economic downturn may not be just six months. I mean, we may be in this for two years.”

The tax-cut portion of the plan will focus on middle-class relief, the lawmaker said, noting that Obama has discussed a reduction of $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples.

Businesses would be given an incentive to invest more money by a provision allowing them to write off their spending more quickly, he said.

Van Hollen said including “buy American” language that would give U.S. companies a mandated share of the spending could give other countries a reason to keep U.S. businesses out of their own projects, he said.

‘Sending a Message’

“I do worry about sending a message to the rest of the world that we’re going to put up big walls and barriers here because part of our long-term economic recovery is going to require exports,” Van Hollen said. He said he wants to ensure that U.S. companies benefit from growth in the rest of the world.

In addition, the lawmaker said, “There’s not going to be pork spending” on lawmakers’ pet projects. “We’re not going to say, this money has to be spent on this particular road project,” he said.

Van Hollen suggested that when Congress reconvenes next week, Democratic leaders will eliminate six-year term limits for committee chairmen established in January 2007 after Democrats regained control of Congress after 12 years in the minority.

Van Hollen defended eliminating the limits, saying House Democrats showed their willingness to change panel governance when they replaced House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, with Representative Henry Waxman of California. Waxman is seen as holding positions more in line with traditional environmental groups, and Dingell has been closely aligned with his home state’s auto industry on key issues.

“You don’t want to automatically end somebody’s tenure,” Van Hollen said.

He said the Waxman-Dingell contest for the chairmanship showed that “people have to make sure that they’re reflecting the views of the entire caucus and, in the case that they’re not, they may or may not be upset in an election like that.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Litvan at llitvan@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 2, 2009 15:58 EST