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"shutdown of the US federal government scheduled to begin on Saturday was averted after the Democrats and Republicans reached agreement only hours before midnight on budget spending cuts.
The shutdown would have triggered major disruptions across the country and could have set back the country's fragile economic recovery. Hundreds of federal agencies would have closed down and about 800,000 federal staff faced suspension.
The deal came after days of negotiation between Obama and the Republican House Speaker, John Boehner, and the Democratic leader in the Senate Harry Reid. A deal had appeared to be tantalisingly close several times but was not finalised, until Friday night.
Boehner, an hour before midnight, told journalists in Congress: "I am pleased that Senator Reid and the White House have come to an agreement that will cut spending and keep government open."
It would have been the first federal government shutdown since 1995-96 when there was a stand-off between the Republicans and the Clinton White House.
Barack Obama tore up his schedule for Friday, including the start of a family weekend break in Virginia, to concentrate on negotiations with Republicans. He had hoped to reach a compromise Friday morning but discussions dragged out throughout the day.
Obama portrayed the compromise as a tribute to US democracy as he said: "Tomorrow ... the entire federal government will be open for business."
Reid, like Obama, paid tribute to the Republicans in spite of the repeated clashes over the last week. "This has been a long process," Reid said. "It has not been an easy process. Both sides have had to make tough choices."
The Republicans forced the Democrats to agree to $39bn (£23bn) in spending cuts in this year's budget to September, $6bn more than the Democrats were prepared to accept earlier this week. In return, the Republicans dropped a demand to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, an organisation providing healthcare for women. Republicans objected to the organisation's links to abortion."
"shutdown of the US federal government scheduled to begin on Saturday was averted after the Democrats and Republicans reached agreement only hours before midnight on budget spending cuts.
The shutdown would have triggered major disruptions across the country and could have set back the country's fragile economic recovery. Hundreds of federal agencies would have closed down and about 800,000 federal staff faced suspension.
The deal came after days of negotiation between Obama and the Republican House Speaker, John Boehner, and the Democratic leader in the Senate Harry Reid. A deal had appeared to be tantalisingly close several times but was not finalised, until Friday night.
Boehner, an hour before midnight, told journalists in Congress: "I am pleased that Senator Reid and the White House have come to an agreement that will cut spending and keep government open."
It would have been the first federal government shutdown since 1995-96 when there was a stand-off between the Republicans and the Clinton White House.
Barack Obama tore up his schedule for Friday, including the start of a family weekend break in Virginia, to concentrate on negotiations with Republicans. He had hoped to reach a compromise Friday morning but discussions dragged out throughout the day.
Obama portrayed the compromise as a tribute to US democracy as he said: "Tomorrow ... the entire federal government will be open for business."
Reid, like Obama, paid tribute to the Republicans in spite of the repeated clashes over the last week. "This has been a long process," Reid said. "It has not been an easy process. Both sides have had to make tough choices."
The Republicans forced the Democrats to agree to $39bn (£23bn) in spending cuts in this year's budget to September, $6bn more than the Democrats were prepared to accept earlier this week. In return, the Republicans dropped a demand to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, an organisation providing healthcare for women. Republicans objected to the organisation's links to abortion."
