Could the petty political drama that was the government shutdown finally be over?
After 16 days of no pay for 800,000 furloughed workers, $24 billion lost and a down-to-the-wire scare that our country was headed towards fiscal calamity, the house passed a temporary bill that solved all of those issues.
The deal passed the House with a 285 to 144 vote, which was still opposed by some Congressional Republicans like Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. The new measure restores funding for the government through Jan. 15 and extends the nation’s borrowing authority through Feb. 7.
Cruz, who largely opposed Obamacare, slammed the new measure, as the deal lacked any major legislative changes to the health care law.
“This is a terrible deal,” Cruz said on the Senate floor before the vote. “This deal embodies everything about the Washington establishment that frustrates the American people.”
House Speaker John Boehner conceded the battle, driven largely by Tea Party Republicans to scrap the Affordable Care Act, was over.
“We fought the good fight. We just didn’t win,” Boehner said.
President Barack Obama signed the bill into law without delay after the House gave the final approval.
Federal workers who have been furloughed are expected to return to work on Thursday and will receive back pay for their time out.
As the deal neared final passage in the House Wednesday, Obama said it was now time for leaders in Washington to win back the trust of Americans that was lost during the debt-and-spending crisis.
That’s going to be a long hard road, seeing that the government was shut down and Republicans took us to the brink of financial collapse for no good reason.
We’ll keep you updated on the latest from Washington D.C.
SOURCE: AP | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
