Influence Alley

House Speaker John Boehner might not have appeared to be speaking in his usual fluid way while delivering a statement at the Capitol Wednesday on the upcoming fiscal cliff challenges.

 

One possible reason: a House press gallery official says it was the first time a Speaker -- not just Boehner but any Speaker -- has ever used a teleprompter for a news event at the Capitol.

Boehner congratulated the president on winning reelection and said House Republicans would work with him on solving the so-called fiscal cliff. 

"It won't be solved simply by raising taxes or by taking a plunge off the fiscal cliff. What we can do is avert the cliff in a manner that serves as a down payment on ... major solutions enacted in 2013 to begin to solve the problem," he said. 

Boehner spoke for about 10 minutes and did not answer questions. 

Read the full text of Boehner's statement after the jump.