President signs bill ending shutdown
For now, the government shutdown is over. President Obama signed a bill ending the 16 day partial shutdown of the country’s government. The bill also temporarily raises the debt ceiling.
More than two weeks of arguments between political parties resulted in 800,000 government employees being forced to go on furlough.
They will now return to work Thursday.
Lawmakers worked precariously close to the midnight debt ceiling deadline amid warnings the government could run out of money to pay its bills if it didn’t raise the debt ceiling. The GOP-led House gave the final stamp of approval to the Senate-brokered bill, passing it easily late Wednesday night. But it wasn’t Republicans who made it happen; a majority of that party’s caucus actually voted against the measure, which only passed because of overwhelming Democratic support.
The bill extends government spending levels until January 15. Congress has until February 7 to decide once again, whether or not to extend the debt ceiling.
While congress came to an agreement, there’s still a lot the bill doesn’t address. Complex issues such as changes to entitlement programs to tax forms still need working out.
But in the meantime, America is officially back in business.
Read the bill here.
It seems like congressional leaders have just temporarily fixed an ongoing problem for the uptenth time. What will it take for them to buckle down and actually get things done?
Sound off below!