A bipartisan budget deal to fund US federal services has been reached in Washington.
It means for the first time in three years instead of a bitter standoff, the Democrats and Republicans have agreed to compromise.
The 62 billion euro budget must still be approved by Congress.
Committee chairman, Republican Paul Ryan countered conservative ‘Tea Party’ critics, saying:
“I think this agreement is a clear improvement on the status quo. This agreement makes sure that we don’t have a government shutdown scenario in January. It makes sure that we don’t have another government shutdown scenario in October. It make sure that we don’t lurch from crisis to crisis.”
Last October Democrat-Republican feuding and brinkmanship over the budget led to a government shutdown in which public workers were laid off and some services ground to a halt.
Before that a similar row over cuts and spending resulted in a near default in 2011.
