Government Shutdown Averted

In the 11th hour on Friday night, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders came to an agreement on a deal to cut more than $37 billion in federal spending and avert the first government shutdown in 15 years.

President Obama hailed the pact as "the biggest annual spending cut in history," and House Speaker John Boehner said that over the next decade it would cut government spending by $500 billion.

"This is historic, what we've done," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The announcement of the agreement came less than an hour before government funding was due to run out.