US government shutdown averted by late night deal in Congress
Obama and Democrats forced to accept $39bn package of cuts while Republicans gave way on healthcare for women.
A shutdown of the US federal government scheduled to begin on Saturday was averted after the Democrats and Republicans reached agreement only hours before midnight on budget spending cuts.
The shutdown would have triggered major disruptions across the country and could have set back the country's fragile economic recovery. Hundreds of federal agencies would have closed down and about 800,000 federal staff faced suspension.
The deal came after days of negotiation between Obama and the Republican House Speaker, John Boehner, and the Democratic leader in the Senate Harry Reid. A deal had appeared to be tantalisingly close several times but was not finalised, until Friday night.
No comments:
Post a Comment