Boehner: 'Hard to imagine' budget agreement

    ANDREW TAYLOR and JULIE PACE
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    House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio takes questions from employees after a tour of Vinylmax LLC, Monday, Feb. 11, 2013, in Hamilton, Ohio. Vinylmax is a top window producing company. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

    WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner says "it's hard to imagine" the Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate reaching a budget deal.

    Boehner spoke in an interview with The Associated Press the day after President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

    Despite his pessimism, Boehner says Congress must find a way to reconcile its disagreements over fiscal matters in order to address the nation's long-term spending problems.

    Boehner also dismissed Obama's proposal for universal preschool for all 4-year-olds. Boehner said getting the federal government involved in that process would be "a good way to screw it up."