With Debt Deal Done, U.S. Shutdown Set To End

Washington:  In a major victory for President Barack Obama, the U.S. Congress voted to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling ending a 16-day stand off that had put America at risk of its first ever debt default.

The Republicans, who had engaged in a bitter budget battle to derail Obama's healthcare law nicknamed Obamacare conceded defeat as the Oct 17 debt ceiling deadline approached when the Treasury had warned U.S. would run out of cash to pay its bills.

The eleventh hour deal with only minor concessions from Democrats hammered out earlier by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid his Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell received broad bipartisan support in both chambers.

The vote was 81-18 in the Democratic led Senate with only 18 of the 45 Republicans opposing it and 285- 144 in the Republican controlled House. As many as 87 Republicans joined all 198 Democrats in supporting the measure.

Shortly after the Senate vote, Obama said once the House passes the deal, "I will sign it immediately. We'll begin reopening our government immediately."

"There's a lot of work ahead of us, including our need to earn back the trust of the American people that's been lost over the last few weeks," he said. "And we can begin to do that by addressing the real issues that they care about."

As the bill headed for the President's desk, the White House asked federal workers to be ready to return to work.

"Now that the bill has passed the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, the President plans to sign it tonight and employees should expect to return to work in the morning," director of the office of management and budget, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, said.