The legislation
passed by Congress reopens the government and raises the debt
ceiling, averting an immediate fiscal crisis.
Government shutdown
The hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal government employees
have been told to return to work on Thursday. They will be paid for the
16 days of the shutdown. The legislation funds the government until
January 15.
Debt ceiling
The US Treasury can borrow until February 7 and should be able to
continue functioning for a couple of weeks thereafter by using emergency
measures.
Budget
Bipartisan, House-Senate negotiations to reduce the budget deficit
must be completed by December 13. Any deal must be approved by both
houses of Congress.
What the deal does not include:
Sequestration
The automatic, across-the-board cuts that began in March, were not
lifted. The next round of cuts are due to take effect in January when
the temporary spending measures end. Their removal is expected to be a
key part of the budget negotiations.
Obamacare
The Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature
healthcare legislation that Republicans had hoped to defund in exchange
f
The only minor change is that there will be measures to confirm the
incomes of some recipients of government subsidies for health insurance.
or raising the debt ceiling and reopening the government, survives
largely unscathed.
