A last-minute budget deal late Friday narrowly averted a government shutdown that would have snarled financial operations for government agencies from federal aviation to securities and exchange, and furloughed hundreds of thousands of “non essential” workers.
With a little over an hour to spare before a midnight deadline, Democrats and Republicans agreed to a compromise plan that will cut about $38 billion in spending for the rest of the fiscal year. Congress then quickly approved a stopgap funding measure to keep the federal government running into next week until the budget agreement can be formally approved.
The last time the government shut down was in 1995 – before the web was ubiquitous – and experts said the consequences could have been far more complicated this time around.
Here’s a quick round-up of news and analysis from around the web:
The New York Times has a nice map with a breakdown of House votes on the stop-gap measure. Read their full report from today’s paper here.
The Wall Street Journal details the drama leading up to the agreement, including a colorful depiction of House Speaker John Boehner’s tear-filled speech to the Republican caucus.
Also from WSJ.com, apparently the website for Sen. Mike Johanns, a Nebraska Republican, accidentally posted a news release applauding a budget deal even before it was reached. The question is: did he have an alternative version prepared?
For some perspective on just how insignificant the amount of money that’s being fought over in Congress is, The Big Picture blog found a fun editorial cartoon from Invenstor’s Business Daily.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
