An agreement on spending was reached Friday night in Washington between Democrats and Republicans in Congress to avoid a paralysis of the federal government, about an hour before the deadline, set at midnight on Saturday.
President Barack Obama reacted quickly, acknowledging that this agreement will be synonymous with budget “painful” cuts, but explaining that the U.S. will have to live in their means. “As is true with any compromise, the two parties were forced to make difficult decisions” and to give in on some points that were important to them, he added at the end of a day full of suspense because of the uncertainty that has hovered on the continuation of government operations.
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner, who announced the agreement, expressed satisfaction with the commitment, he says, that will “reduce costs and ensure that our government will continue to operate”.
The accord will include U.S. $38.5 billion in budget cuts to the level of present expenditures. It will fund the administration’s budget for the rest of the year 2011, up to September 30. Immediately after the agreement, the Senate approved a temporary funding bill for seven days, providing time to submit and vote for final approval.
After this difficult process, Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, welcomed the “historic” agreement. Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, supported Reid’s assessment, but also noted that the fight is not over between the two parties in Congress.