US debt crisis resolved as Obama signs bill

US congress has just about beaten the October 17 deadline effectively saving America from possible default.

13:06 17 October 2013

After three-weeks of government shut down and after facing the risk of default, the US congress has passed a bill to reopen the government and raise the federal debt limit. This came in very close to the wire – just hours before the October 17 deadline.

The bill got 285 votes from the House of the Representatives and 81 votes to 18 from the Democrat-controlled Senate. US President Barack Obama signed the bill into law early on Thursday morning.

However, the deal is only a temporary solution and does not resolve the budget-related issues that fiercely divide Republicans and Democrats.

President Obama warned that US lawmakers must "earn back the trust of the American people".
Speaking after the Senate vote on Wednesday evening, he added: "We've got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis.”

"My hope and expectation is everybody has learned there's no reason why we can't work on the issues at hand, why we can't disagree between the parties without still being agreeable and make sure that we're not inflicting harm on the American people when we do have disagreements."