Boehner: Negotiations 'not going to be easy'

From NBC’s Luke Russert and Domenico Montanaro
House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that negotiations on a longer-term continuing resolution to keep the government funded through September are “not going to be easy.”

Boehner acknowledged he’ll likely have to work with Democrats to get a budget passed by April 8, the date the current spending bill expires. That three-week measure CR passed the House yesterday, and the Senate is expected to take it up today or tomorrow.

"Let me remind you that Republicans control half of one-third of our government,” Boehner said. “It's never lost on me that because we only control the House there a lot of other players we need to work with in order to come to any agreement to keep the government open. I am confident we'll be able to keep the government running while cutting spending, which we believe will lead to a better environment for helping businesses hire in America."