Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said on Wednesday that Washington would avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” with some kind of agreement before the end of the year. House Budget Committee Ranking Democrat Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker and others spoke at a forum on the debt negotiations hosted by Bloomberg Government and Deloitte Consulting company. The “cliff” includes the end of the Bush-era tax cuts and the start of automatic spending cuts that were agreed to in the 2011 debt ceiling deal.
Al Hunt, the Washington political editor for Bloomberg News and host of "Political Capital with Al Hunt," moderated the discussion between Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Former Governor Pawlenty, who is the current President and CEO of The Financial Services Roundtable.