Congress passes the bill; ends the US shutdown

The United States federal government entered a shutdown after Congress failed to enact legislation for appropriations for fiscal year 2014, or a continuing resolution for the interim authorization of appropriations for fiscal year 2014. About 800,000 federal employees were indefinitely furloughed, another 1.3 million were required to report to work without known payment dates, and many services were suspended or curtailed; only those employees and services deemed "excepted" under the Antideficiency Act remained active. 

The most recent previous U.S. federal government shutdown was in 1995–96.

The US Congress on Wednesday approved an 11th hour deal to end a partial government shutdown and pull the world's biggest economy back from the brink of a historic debt default that could have threatened financial calamity. 

As part of the deal, Obama has agreed to sign Spending Measures Bill into law so the 16-day government shutdown would be ended for now. 

The down-to-the-wire deal, however, offers only a temporary fix and does not resolve the fundamental issues of spending and deficits that divide Republicans and Democrats. It funds the government until 15th January and raises the debt ceiling until 7th February, so Americans face the possibility of another bitter budget fight and another government shutdown early next year.

With the deadlock broken just a day before the US Treasury said it would exhaust its ability to borrow new funds, US stocks surged on Wednesday, nearing an all-time high. Share markets in Asia also cheered the deal.

Taking the podium in the White House briefing room on Wednesday night, Obama said that with final congressional passage, "We can begin to lift this cloud of uncertainty and unease from our businesses and from the American people."

"Hopefully next time it won't be in the 11th hour. We've got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis," Obama said. He outmaneuvered Republicans by holding firm in defense of "Obamacare" to win agreement, with few strings attached, to end the 16-day shutdown.

IMF calls for raise in debt ceiling:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked the US Congress to raise the debt ceiling in a more durable manner, as it welcomed the decision to pass a legislation which prevents the government default till early February next year.

The US Congress has taken an important and necessary step by ending the partial shutdown of the federal government and lifting the debt ceiling, which enables the government to continue its operations without disruption for the next few months while budget negotiations continue to unfold, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.

The World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has said that the decision of the US Congress to increase the debt ceiling is good news for the developing countries and the world's poor. “This is good news for developing countries and the world's poor. The global economy dodged a potential catastrophe, Jim said in a statement after the US Congress passed a legislation that increased the debt ceiling.”

What’s a Government Shut-Down?

• The Government Shut Down refers to a temporary halt in non-essential government services when lawmakers cannot pass the necessary funding measures in time.
• So far, in the US, the federal government was shut down twice. Once in 1995-96 and again in October 2013.
• Between 1976 and 2013, there have been 18 government shutdowns across the world.

What: Spending Measure Bill
When: 16th October 2013