Senate leaders Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) gave statements on the Senate floor Wednesday announcing a deal to re-open the government and extend the nation's borrowing limit into February.
According to the New York Times, the agreement stipulates the government would be funded through Jan. 15 and the debt ceiling would be raised until Feb. 7. The Senate will take up a separate motion to instruct House and Senate negotiators to reach accord by Dec. 13 on a long-term blueprint for tax and spending policies over the next decade.
Reid thanked McConnell for his efforts in making the deal happen and noted that Washington had been the subject of scorn for Americans in recent weeks with the the government shut down.
"While they witnessed a great deal of political discord, today they'll see Congress reaching historic bipartisan agreement to reopen the government and avert a default on the nation's bills," Reid said. "This compromise we reached will provide our economy with the stability it desperately needs. It's never easy for two sides to reach consensus. It's really hard, sometimes harder than others. This time was really hard, but after weeks spent facing off across a partisan divide that often seemed too wide to cross, our country came to the brink of a disaster. But in the end, political adversaries set aside their differences and disagreements to prevent that disaster. I thank the Republican leader for his diligent efforts to reach this important agreement."
McConnell stated his confidence that government spending cuts agreed to under the Budget Control Act would be protected with the bargain.
"After yesterday's events, the Majority Leader and I began a series of conversations about a way to get the government reopened and to prevent default," McConnell said. "I'm confident we'll be able to do both those things later today. Crucially, I'm also confident that we'll be able to announce that we're protecting the government spending reductions that both parties agreed to under the Budget Control Act and that the president signed into law. That's been a top priority for me and for my colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle throughout this debate, and it's been worth the effort."