Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer


By Carrie Dann, Political Reporter, NBC News

After weeks of stalemate that shuttered the government for 16 days and brought the nation within hours of a key deadline to renew its borrowing authority, the standoff is finally over.

The House passed a bill 285-144 late Wednesday night to re-open the government and extend the debt ceiling until Feb. 7. That vote came hours after the Senate approved the measure 81-18.

In both chambers, only Republicans voted against the measure. In the House, 87 Republicans joined all Democrats to support it.

After the votes, Office of Management and Budget director Sylvia Mathews Burwell told federal employees to expect to return to work on Thursday morning.

After a long and tedious process, the Senate compromise is only a short-term deal allowing the federal government to operate through January 15, and conservatives who fought to de-fund or delay Obamacare have had to concede defeat. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.

In remarks at the White House after the Senate vote – but before the House took up the measure – President Barack Obama said that he will sign the bill as soon as it arrives on his desk and that the government will begin re-opening "immediately."

“There’s a lot of work ahead of us, including our need to earn back the trust of the American people that’s been lost over the last few weeks,” he said. "And we can begin to do that by addressing the real issues that they care about."

After more than two weeks of standoff over the government shutdown, Republicans -- faced with Thursday’s debt ceiling deadline -- were forced to accept a deal with only minor concessions from Democrats.

That bill will fund the federal government through Jan. 15 and extend the government’s borrowing power, known as the debt ceiling, through Feb. 7. It also calls for an agreement by mid-December on a long-term budget plan.

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/16/20992216-to-the-presidents-desk-house-senate-pass-bill-to-end-shutdown-standoff?lite

Thank God, people can now get back to work.

While I support this measure, this is only short term well let's hope that Jan/Feb limbo is resolved ahead of time. They have about 3months to resolve their difference, there's no excuse for incompetence.

Republicans are nuts! They had no chance defunding Obamacare. Fvck Ted Cruz and. Mike Lee.

^^^

In Sen. McCain words

"Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Wednesday that the budget standoff in Washington and partisan bickering have eroded the confidence of the American people and damaged the credibility of the U.S. Congress.

In an interview with NBC News' Brian Williams, McCain said some House members' determination to repeal or defund President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act during a government shutdown was “a fool’s errand.”

"We inflicted pain on the American people that was totally unnecessary. We cannot do this again," McCain said. "We, Republicans, have a hole that we've got to come out of and obviously we're going to have to do a lot of work."

It was a real "fools errand". They lost 20 billlion dollars in 16 days. Tea party didn't achieve their goal. Now Obamacare is more popular and Repulicans are weakened. They are about to lose on immigration. Obama's fight on immigration starts tomorrow.

manny4life: Thank God, people can now get back to work.

While I support this measure, this is only short term well let's hope that Jan/Feb limbo is resolved ahead of time. They have about 3months to resolve their difference, there's no excuse for incompetence.

I will make sure I file my taxes right away in case they try and cut the child earned income, BTW now that they are open you need to start checking into exporting with http://export.gov/nigeria/ they are giving express loans and the intrest rates are low http://www.sba.gov/content/export-express-program. They are desperate to meet the quota, "Doing Business In Africa" is a program that Obama put in place and the applications are low, so here's your chance brose read up on it. And contact the local SBA office back east.

payless: It was a real "fools errand". They lost 20 billlion dollars in 16 days. Tea party didn't achieve their goal. Now Obamacare is more popular and Repulicans are weakened. They are about to lose on immigration. Obama's fight on immigration starts tomorrow.

Exactly, the Democrats have the upper hand now, the electorates will NEVER forget this gesture at the poll.

What a wasted effort

biafranqueen: I will make sure I file my taxes right away in case they try and cut the child earned income, BTW now that they are open you need to start checking into exporting with http://export.gov/nigeria/ they are giving express loans and the intrest rates are low http://www.sba.gov/content/export-express-program. They are desperate to meet the quota, "Doing Business In Africa" is a program that Obama put in place and the applications are low, so here's your chance brose read up on it. And contact the local SBA office back east.

Thanks for the information, I will definitely look into this.

biafranqueen: I will make sure I file my taxes right away in case they try and cut the child earned income, BTW now that they are open you need to start checking into exporting with http://export.gov/nigeria/ they are giving express loans and the intrest rates are low http://www.sba.gov/content/export-express-program. They are desperate to meet the quota, "Doing Business In Africa" is a program that Obama put in place and the applications are low, so here's your chance brose read up on it. And contact the local SBA office back east.

Have you ever got SBA loan before? I intend to talk to them soon.

Thank God!!
Now 400,000 federal workers can go back to work. As for Senator Cruz, his presidential ambition will end with a massive loss at the 2016 election, due to the ignominius role he played in causing US federal workers lose 2 weeks pay.

I say cabodo rejectamenta to all the political higi-haga that some odoriferous elements of the Teapublican party want to cause in America.

CFCfan: Thank God!!
Now 400,000 federal workers can go back to work. As for Senator Cruz, his presidential ambition will end with a massive loss at the 2016 election, due to the ignominius role he played in causing US federal workers lose 2 weeks pay.

I say cabodo rejectamenta to all the political higi-haga that some odoriferous elements of the Teapublican party want to cause in America.

800,000 Federal worker, bro.

payless: Have you ever got SBA loan before? I intend to talk to them soon.

yes we have received a loan from them and paid it back now we are trying to work with http://www.exim.gov Export - Import Bank of USA. Sba offer free classes and seminars. Go to the website, call them with any questions, they really want to do business in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and two other ones I can't think of at the top of my head. The express loans for the Doing Business in Africa is for exporting purposes only and they are the guaranteer. The express loans goes up to $500,000 the other loans go up to 4 million, but you have to have collateral.

Also check on your Port Authority websites they offer so many free information seminars as well.

Tea party(republican) is a reminiscent of the nazis,trying to turn the clock back.