U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) walks to the House Chamber for a vote October 16, 2013 on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
After 16 days of idiocy, the federal government shutdown is over.
The House of Representatives passed a bill 285-144 late this evening that will reopen the government until January 15 and raise the debt ceiling until February 7. The Senate first passed the bill, which President Obama is expected to sign tonight (Update: He signed it), 81 to 18.
Furloughed federal workers should return to their jobs tomorrow morning, according to the Office of Management and Budget. The National Zoo’s panda cam should be back on by midday. Veterans will once again be allowed to visit war memorials, and foxes will, presumably, be asked to leave the White House.
The bill passed, rather uneventfully, save for the outburst of a woman acting as a stenographer for the House of Representatives. Before being escorted off the House floor, the woman reportedly yelled, “He will not be mocked. He will not be mocked. The greatest deception here is this is not one nation under God. It never was. It never was. Had it been, it would not have been — the Constitution would not have been written by Freemasons. They go against God. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve two masters. Praise be to God, lord Jesus Christ.”
Before signing the bill into law, President Obama said tomorrow “we can begin to lift this cloud of uncertainty and unease from our businesses and from the American people.”
“I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I am willing to work with anybody, I am eager to work with anybody — Democrat or Republican, House or Senate members — on any idea that will grow our economy, create new jobs, strengthen the middle class, and get our fiscal house in order for the long term,” Obama said. “I’ve never believed that Democrats have a monopoly on good ideas. And despite the differences over the issue of shutting down our government, I’m convinced that Democrats and Republicans can work together to make progress for America.”
At the end of the conference, Obama was asked, “Mr. President, isn’t this going to happen all over again in a few months?” He responded “No” to laughter.
As part of the bill, D.C. was given one year of budget authority. That means, should the government shut down again sometime before September 30, 2014, D.C. will be allowed to spend its local money. In a release, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) thanked Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry “Don’t Screw It Up” Reid, as well as Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Nebr.), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).
“A boomerang solution putting D.C. back in the federal government’s fiscal mess in January was beyond unacceptable,” Norton said in a release. “This authority to spend our local funds for the full fiscal year, although the federal government is open only through January 15, 2014, is a historic first. But residents must see more than a reprieve from this year’s serial federal shutdown brinks. We must now make use of the damage done by moving on all fronts for full budget autonomy.”
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray also thanked the president and Congressional leaders: “Most importantly, I want to offer my deepest gratitude to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, our tireless and fearless advocate for the people of the District of Columbia in Congress. We are fortunate to have her fighting for us every day.”
“The health, safety, and welfare of 632,000 District residents should never be a bargaining chip in a debate over the federal budget,” Gray said in a release. “I’m relieved and thankful that we will not have to worry for the rest of the fiscal year about becoming collateral damage if, God forbid, the federal government is again forced to shut down.”
