Federal employees got back to work on Thursday and the Treasury Department received authority to continue paying off America’s debts under a bipartisan deal reached between Congress and the White House the day before.
The 16-day government shutdown ended with no major concessions from the Obama administration, which successfully fought off Republican efforts to repeal, delay and defund the Affordable Care Act. However, the brokered deal was yet another stop-gap measure: the budget has only been funded through Jan. 15 and the debt ceiling raised to Feb. 7, but with ACA’s existence unchallenged — for now — in the legislature, attention will turn toward its implementation.
