Senate Passes Measure to End Fiscal Impasse
Source: New York Times
WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans conceded defeat Wednesday in their bitter budget fight with President Obama over the new health care law, agreeing to end a disruptive 16-day government shutdown and extend federal borrowing power to avert a financial default with potential worldwide economic repercussions.
With Treasury warning it could run out of money to pay U.S. obligations within a day, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday evening 81-18 to approve an a proposal hammered out by the Senate’s Republican and Democratic leaders after the House on Tuesday was unable to move forward with any resolution. The House was expected to within hours follow suit and approve the Senate plan that would fund the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt limit through Feb. 7.
The result of the fight that threatened the nation’s credit rating was a near total defeat for the Republican conservatives who had engineered the budget impasse as a way to strip the new health care law of funding even as registration for benefits opened Oct. 1 or, failing that, to win delays in putting the program into place. The shutdown sent Republican poll ratings plunging, cost the government billions of dollars and damaged the nation’s international credibility.
Under the agreement, the government would be funded through Jan. 15, and the debt ceiling would be raised until Feb. 7. The Senate will take up a separate motion to instruct House and Senate negotiators to reach accord by Dec. 13 on a long-term blueprint for tax and spending policies over the next decade.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/news/fiscal-crisis/2013/10/16/senate-passes-measure-to-end-fiscal-impasse
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