The federal government narrowly avoided shutdown Friday evening after the White House, Senate Democrats and House Republicans agreed on a plan to cut $38.5 billion from the budget.
The agreement, which occurred a mere hour and a half before the government was to shut down, came after a long battle in the split Congress over both fiscal and ideological issues.
In the final hours leading up to the shutdown, Planned Parenthood became the center of the debate, with Republicans demanding its defunding and Democrats refusing to do so.
In the end, Planned Parenthood was taken out of the equation but Republicans did manage to increase the amount of cuts to the overall budget.
""This has been a lot of discussion and a long fight, but we ought to keep government spending down because it really will in fact help create a better environment for job creators in this country,"" U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said after the deal was cut.
President Barack Obama said he ""would not have made these cuts in better circumstances,"" but that he was glad women's health and other ideological issues were taken out of the equation.
The budget itself has not been passed yet, but the deal made Friday keeps the government running through this coming week, during which Boehner said he expects the Republican controlled House to pass it.
Congressman Sean Duffy, R-Wis., who was among the dozens of freshman lawmakers voted into office with the Republican wave of 2010, has been a driving force in demanding further cuts from Obama's budget. The effort to cut federal spending does not end with this budget, he said.
""While I am relieved that we were able to prevent a government shutdown, our hard work is only just beginning,"" Duffy said in a statement. The nation faces very serious problems and tough choices will be required, he said.
