The news the global economic and political community was expecting so much has finally been announced, bolstering common optimism. The deal on funding the federal institutions and debt ceiling increase was reached at last. In fact, today was a deadline. The bill was passed by a vote of 285-144 in the lower chamber of the House. Just a couple of hours before, the document was approved by 81 senators. The Obama administration has already announced that the president will sign the bill as soon as it reaches his office.
The representatives of the two parties succeeded in reaching the compromise until October 17 deadline determined by the U.S. Treasury. The solution that suited both Republicans and Democrats is a kind of a stopgap, however. The funding will only continue through January 15, 2014, while the debt cushion was extended through February 7. The 2014 federal budget is going to be considered by a specially appointed committee. Due to the disagreements, the American policymakers were racing against time to agree on the key financial document and raise the debt limit. Republicans demanded to delay parts of Obama's healthcare law, but Democrats led by Obama turned this proposal down opting for a budget without such restrictions. As a result, at the start of October, America still lacked an approved 2014 budget, so the government was partially shut down, and over 800 federal employees were sent home.
