A stenographer in the US House of Representatives was led away after an outburst during the vote on a bill to end the budget crisis.

The woman surprised staff and members when she went to the microphone and began a confused speech in which she appeared to denounce freemasons and made references to God.

"He will not be mocked," the woman repeatedly said. "The greatest deception here is this is not one nation under God. It never was. The constitution would not have been written by freemasons. They go against God. You cannot serve two masters."

It was unclear what prompted the outburst and the woman was led away by House staff. The vote was completed, and the House passed the bill.

Gerry Connolly, a Democratic congressman from Virginia, was quoted by the Washington Post as saying the stenographer was a well-liked figure in the House. "I think there's a lot of sympathy, because something clearly happened there," Connolly said.