It’s Over

The government shutdown is over. At the least, we won’t face another showdown for a few more months.

In addition to lifting the $16.7 trillion debt limit , the emerging measure would fund the government through Jan. 15, delaying the next threat of a shutdown until after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. It would set up a conference committee to hammer out broader budget issues, such as whether to replace deep cuts to agency budgets known as the sequester with other savings.

But the bill’s timeline sets up another potentially bitter showdown over spending cuts and entitlement programs that will unfold in the halls of Congress over the next four months.

In a small Democratic concession on the Affordable Care Act, Republicans got additional safeguards to ensure that people who receive subsidies to buy health insurance are, in fact, eligible.

“Republicans remain determined to repeal this terrible law,” McConnell said in announcing the agreement alongside Reid. “But for today – for today – the relief we hope for is to reopen the government, avoid default and protect the historic cuts we achieved under the Budget Control Act.

Wall Street anticipated the deal and celebrated with a strong rally today. The S&P 500 is close to a new all-time high, and the Nasdaq closed at a 13-year high.

Posted by on October 16th, 2013 at 10:48 pm


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