US House may not vote on any fiscal cliff deal before Jan 1

WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives may not vote on any Senate-passed "fiscal cliff" deal until after Monday's midnight EST deadline (0500 on Tuesday), a Republican leadership aide said.

The aide said any negative fallout from delaying a vote until Tuesday, New Year's Day, would be minimal since financial markets would be closed.

The aide noted, "We still don't have a bill from the Senate and we want members to read it before they vote on it."

(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro and David Lawder; Editing by Will Dunham)