The Republican majority in Congress and the White House reached agreement Monday on a rare budget compromise which, if adopted, would remove the risk of default for the rest of the presidency of Barack Obama. Republicans in the House of Representatives unveiled shortly before midnight a bill negotiated discreetly for several weeks between the Republican leaders of the House and Senate, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, Democratic leaders and the White House.
The agreement - which would modestly increase spending over the next two years and raise the federal borrowing limit - must now be passed by the House and the Senate in the coming days. The text sets the budgets for fiscal years 2016 and 2017. Congress must raise the federal borrowing limit by November 3 - or risk Washington ending up in default. Unless there is a dramatic turn of events, the most divisive issue in the capital will be resolved before House Speaker John Boehner is expected to turn over his gavel to Representative Paul Ryan later this week.