Obama signs bill to end US govt shutdown

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said looking forward, it will be essential to reduce uncertainty surrounding the conduct of fiscal policy by raising the debt limit in a more durable manner.



Soon after Obama signed the legislation, the White House Office of Management of Budget issued a notice to federal agencies asking the furloughed employees to resume their duties on Thursday.

“Today, the President signed a continuing resolution that brings employees back to work and reopens many government functions. All employees who were on furlough due to the absence of appropriations may now return to work,” Sylvia M Burwell, OMB Director, said in a memorandum.

Earlier, the Senate passed the legislation by 81-18 votes, while in the House of Representatives it was passed by 285-144 votes to end the government shutdown.

This means that the Democrats and the Republicans have a few months time to come out with a lasting solution to their sharp differences over budget issues, or else the country could very well plunge into another political and economic crisis as seen over three weeks.

Before the Senate and the House were to pass the legislation in quick succession,  Obama had said he is willing to work with anybody to overcome this crisis.