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President Barack Obama early on Thursday signed a bill ending the two-week US government shutdown and extending the Treasury’s borrowing authority.
Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a separate statement that the government will try to get back to full operating status as smoothly as possible, according to PMNEWS.
“This has been a particularly challenging time for Federal employees and I want to thank our Nation’s dedicated civil servants for their continued commitment to serving the American people,” she wrote.
Most employees are expected back to work Thursday, Burwell said in a directive to federal agencies.
Congress on Wednesday had speedily voted to end the 16-day-old government shutdown and avert the potential for the first major debt default in U.S. history in a deal that gave President Obama most of what he sought — an open government and more borrowing authority without denting Obamacare.
The Senate voted 81-18 to approve the deal and sent it over to the House, which quickly followed suit with a 285-144 vote on the measure — amounting to an almost complete surrender for the GOP.
