epa03988189 Speaker of the House and Republican Senator from Ohio John Boehner delivers remarks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 12 December 2013. US lawmakers were due to vote 12 December on a budget deal that would fund the government for the next two years in a bid to avoid the partisan gridlock that prompted a government shutdown in October 2013. Boehner, the top Republican in the chamber, had harsh words for outside conservative groups that have dismissed the deal. EPA/SHAWN THEW