Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, front right, shakes hands with a boy during a visit to the Vidigal slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Jan. 9, 2012. Boehner toured a Rio de Janeiro shantytown that has recently been taken over from drug traffickers by police. Boehner is leading a seven-member congressional delegation to Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Some lawmakers suspected that House Speaker John A. Boehner had acquiesced in the two-month extension of payroll tax cuts that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell worked out, and he was challenged on it in a closed-door meeting. Mr. Boehner bristled at the accusation, according to several participants, and denied it flatly. (Associated Press)
** FILE ** Speaker of the House John Boehner of Ohio, center, is surrounded by reporters after exiting a House vote on the payroll tax cut in Washington, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, speaks Dec. 22, 2011, about extending the payroll-tax cut during a briefing on Capitol Hill. (Associated Press)
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, walks Dec. 20, 2011, to the House floor in the Capitol in Washington. (Associated Press)
In this Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011, photo provided by NBC News, Speaker of the House, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, appears on NBC's "Meet the Press" in Washington. House Republicans said Sunday they oppose a bipartisan, Senate-approved bill that extends a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months and said congressional bargainers need to write a new version lasting a longer time. "It's pretty clear I and our members oppose the Senate bill," Boehner said, adding, "I believe two months is just kicking the can down the road." (AP Photo, NBC News, William B. Plowman)
House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, followed by Rep. Greg Walden, Oregon Republican, strides into a GOP strategy session on Capitol Hill singing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" on Dec. 16, 2011, the morning after lawmakers from both political parties came together on an 11th-hour deal to keep the government from shutting down. (Associated Press)
House Speaker John Boehner (center), Ohio Republican, flanked by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (left), Texas Republican, and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, briefs reporters Dec. 16, 2011, on Capitol Hill after lawmakers from both political parties came together on an 11th-hour deal to keep the government from shutting down. (Associated Press)
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo)
