Deal Will Re-Open Government and Raise Debt Limit

The Senate and House of Representatives are set to vote later today on a deal that would allow the country to avoid a historic debt default.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner has said that he will allow the House to vote on the 11th hour Senate deal that was constructed by Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell. House Republicans remain largely opposed to the deal, but it is expected that the bill will pass the House thanks to strong Democrat support.

The deal is expected to easily pass the Senate.

Once the House and Senate have passed the bill, President Barack Obama will sign it into law. Barring any sort of late breaking developments, this should all happen on Wednesday evening.

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Here are the key points of the Senate bill that will be voted on by the House and Senate later today:

-the government will be funded until December 15th
-the debt ceiling will be raised until February 7th
-the government will be allowed to utilize "extraordinary measures" to continue funding the country past February 7th
-audits will be conducted to ensure that those who receive Obamacare subsidies are at certain income levels

Republicans dropped their attempts to include deeper changes to Obamacare, such as the elimination of a medical device tax.

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This deal, if passed, is seen as being a victory for the Democrats. The Republicans got their wish of passing a short-term debt ceiling increase (President Obama had wanted a one-year increase), while Democrats got their wish for a "clean" short-term funding bill and debt ceiling increase.

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The debt ceiling crisis has seemingly been averted once again. Don't fret, though, as another crisis will most certainly be just around the corner.

Source: Chicago Tribune - Government Shutdown: Congress plans last-minute votes to avert default


Filed under: General Knowledge