Senate leaders said that they reached a bipartisan agreement to end the 16-day government shutdown and averting a default on the national debt, NBC News reported.
Congress is intended to quickly advance legislation through the House and Senate on Wednesday afternoon in hopes of avoiding default on the national debt and reopening the government, news reports said.
The 'bipartisan deal would reopen the government through mid-January and extend the government's ability to borrow through early February," news reports said. President Barack Obama vowed not to bargain over "basic government operations" throughout the 16-day government shutdown.
Both sides of the political aisle in the Senate said they were mostly satisfied with the agreement reached on Wednesday.
"The compromise we reached will provide our economy with the stability it desperately needs. In the end, political adversaries set aside their differences and disagreement to prevent... disaster," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.
"This is far less than many of us had hoped for, frankly, but is far better than what some had sought," said Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
If the House were to approve the Senate compromise on Wednesday, the final deal could be sent to the White House for President Obama to sign by midnight ahead of the Thursday deadline that Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew set for action to raise the $16. 7 trillion debt limit, The Associated Press reported.
"Republicans have to understand we have lost this battle, as I predicted weeks ago, that we would not be able to win because we were demanding something that was not achievable," conceded Arizona Senator John McCain. Some conservatives, like Senator Ted Cruz had hoped to defund the healthcare law, a move that drew the ire not just of Democrats, but also from Independents and fellow Republicans.
