Shutdown Over; U.S. Narrowly Avoids Debt Default

Federal workers will be back on the job Thursday: Congress has voted to raise the debt ceiling and effectively ended the government shutdown — at least for the time being.

The deal passed late Wednesday funds the federal government through Jan. 15, 2014.

The Senate voted 81-18 to end the 16-day shutdown and raise the debt ceiling — just hours before the Treasury Department would have gone into default, unable to pay the country's bills. The House followed suit, voting 285-144 to end the shutdown and narrowly avoid default.

The legislation will permit the Treasury to continue borrowing through at least Feb. 7, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. 

Congressman Bill Foster, D-11, released a statement following the vote, which put an end to what he called a "reckless and unnecessary shutdown."

“While I am disappointed that extreme and irresponsible factions in Congress were able to force a costly and harmful government shutdown, I am very pleased that more rational and moderate Members of Congress were able to reach a bipartisan agreement to reopen our government and pay our bills," Foster said in a statement. "While today was a step in the right direction, our work is far from done. We cannot continue to govern from one manufactured crisis to the next. Now it is time for moderate Republicans and Democrats to come together and work out a long term budget agreement that builds on the economic recovery we’ve seen since the recession."

President Barack Obama, who said he would not negotiate defunding the Affordable Care Act in exchange for an end to the shutdown, gave a brief speech following the vote, according to the Huffington Post. 

The legislation passed Wednesday night includes no major changes to the Affordable Care Act.

"There is a lot of work ahead of us, including our need to earn back the trust of the American people that has been lost over the last few weeks," Obama told reporters.