John Boehner: “I will do the easy one first. With the pension conference, there are conversations going on. There has been a lot of…”

“I will do the easy one first. With the pension conference, there are conversations going on. There has been a lot of shuttle diplomacy, if you will, between offices, both Democrat and Republican, trying to bring this bill together. I do believe that we are making progress. We are relatively close. But considering the complexity of this issue and the necessity that it be correct, I am hopeful we will have an agreement next week, but I have got my doubts whether it can be put together in time to be brought to the floor. But my overall point is that I think we are getting close. On the supplemental, I have made it very clear that the House will not consider a conference report on the supplemental spending bill that spends any more money than what the President called for for Katrina and the war in Iraq. And, secondly, I have made it clear that we ought to remember that the word ``emergency'' ought to be put back into the emergency spending bill. And so I think that the appropriators on both sides of the Capitol have their marching orders. I know they have had conversations. It is hard for me to gauge at this point the chances of whether this bill will be up next week. I hope that it is, but I think they have a big job ahead of them.”