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Shutdown ends as Obama signs budget deal

Lawmakers voted just hours before the Oct. 17 deadline set by the Treasury Department for raising the borrowing limit.

Congress moved Wednesday to end the government shutdown and prevent a possible default, as the House and Senate both approved a Senate-negotiated agreement in separate, bipartisan votes.

The House voted 285-144 in favor of the bill, which would fund the government until Jan. 15 and raise the debt ceiling until Feb. 7. That followed an 81-18 Senate vote on the same measure.

After weeks of bitter debate and stalemate between the two parties, it took less than 3 hours for the House and Senate to approve the package. The Treasury had warned it would have only $30 billion in its accounts after Thursday, and Fitch on Tuesday put the U.S. credit rating on a negative watch.

Aside from easing the concerns on Wall Street, passage will give the two parties a framework for working together, at least for a few months. Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said she and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) would hold a breakfast meeting Thursday to start the budget conference that both chambers agreed to tonight.

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