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First Word: Boehner says budget cuts aren't his problem

In an interview with the Associated Press, Speaker John Boehner revealed he has a new strategy in negotiating with the president.
Speaker John Boehner speaks during an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Speaker John Boehner speaks during an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Speaker John Boehner revealed he has a new strategy in negotiating with the president. Boehner is adopting you a "you-first" strategy where he and the House will only look at bills after the White House and Senate pass it. He admitted to the AP that after two failed rounds of budget talks with Obama, "Frankly, every time I've gotten into one of these high-profile negotiations, you know, it's my rear end that got burnt." Now as the government heads towards a sequester that will cut $85 billion from the Pentagon and domestic program, Boehner is acting as though he should have nothing to do with it. "Remember, this is the president's idea. He insisted on this. And until he puts forward a plan to replace the sequester and his Senate Democratic colleagues pass it, we're going to be stuck with it."

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