Shutdown Over

From USA Today:
"Congress passes deal to end shutdown, raise debt limit"

Congress approved a bipartisan deal Wednesday to reopen the federal government and avert an unprecedented debt default, ending a bitter and partisan 16-day impasse. President Obama said he will sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk. The Senate voted 81-18; The House voted 285-144.  The narrow deal includes a stopgap measure that would fund the government through Jan. 15, and suspend the debt ceiling until Feb. 7. Congress also established a framework for formal bipartisan budget negotiations to begin. Negotiators would be tasked with reporting out by Dec. 13 recommendations for longer-term spending levels and deficit reduction. The package will also provide back pay to the 800,000 federal workers affected by the shutdown, and keep in place a pay freeze for members of Congress through the upcoming budget year.

 ^ Finally, the US Government is open for business (the President just signed it.)We won't default on our bills (the way Russia did in 1998) and we can keep our standing in the world - while it is weakened it is not gone. While the Government is working again this deal doesn't fix much - it is not a cure-all. It only postpones the fight for another day. Hopefully, all sides (the extremist Democrats, the extremist Republicans and the President) will start to see just how their actions affected innocent, ordinary Americans. Those three factions bullied the country for their own goals and in the end the people were the ones "held" hostage. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/10/16/government-shutdown-debt-limit-congress-deal/2993181/