WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate Wednesday evening voted to end the federal government shutdown and avoid a debt default. The senate approved a comprimise bill 81-18 to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling.
President Obama vowed to sign the bill immediately upon pending House approval.
The President also said that politicians in Washington have to “get out of the habit of governing by crisis.”
Leading up to today’s compromise deal, President Obama warned that not raising the debt ceiling would cause big problems for the struggling American economy.
“The American people can’t afford an economic shutdown on top of a government shutdown,” he said.
As the House of Representatives awaits the bill signed by the Senate, outspoken Tea Party / Republican leader Ted Cruz called the deal “terrible.”
Speaker of the House John Boehner was nearly as critical, but said House Republicans wouldn’t block the deal.
“The House has fought with everything it has to convince the president of the United States to engage in bipartisan negotiations aimed at addressing our country’s debt and providing fairness for the American people under ObamaCare,” Boehner said. “That fight will continue. But blocking the bipartisan agreement reached today by the members of the Senate will not be a tactic for us.”