Obama applauds Senate deal

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised the Senate deal to avert a debt default and raise the debt ceiling, as well as re-open the government which has been shut down for more than two weeks. "The president believes that the bipartisan agreement announced by the leaders of the United States Senate will reopen the government and remove the threat of economic brinksmanship that has already harmed middle-class families, American businesses and our country's economic standing in the world, " said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. "The president applauds Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for working together to forge this compromise and encourages the Congress to act swiftly to end this shutdown and protect the full faith and credit of the United States of America," he added. However Carney said he was "not issuing an official statement of administration policy" until a vote takes place and legislation moves through Congress, so Obama can sign it into law. "We obviously hope that each house will be able to act swiftly because we're already on day 16 of a wholly unnecessary shutdown of government with real consequences for real people," he noted. "And we are obviously, you know, very close to the point beyond which the United States Treasury no longer has the authority to borrow new money to meet our obligations. So as soon as possible is essentially the recommendation for a vote we would have from here." Both the Senate and the House of Representatives must vote on the deal - one which provides for government funding through mid-January and a raise of the debt ceiling through early February - before Thursday.