WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) -- Racing to make a deadline, the Senate passed legislation Wednesday night to avoid a threatened national default and end the 16-day partial government shutdown along the strict terms set by President Barack Obama.
The 81-18 vote sent the measure to a waiting House. Expected passage there late in the evening would clear it for Obama's signature - the final act in an epic political drama that put the economy's health at risk.
The legislation would permit the Treasury to borrow normally through Feb. 7 or perhaps a month longer, and fund the government through Jan. 15. More than two million federal workers would be paid - those who had remained on the job and those who had been furloughed.
The stock market surged higher at the prospect of an end to the crisis that also had threatened to shake confidence in the U.S. economy overseas.
The White House embraced the bill, worked out by the Senate's two party leaders, saying in a statement it would "protect the full faith and credit of the United States and end the government shutdown."
Republicans had other concerns. "We fought the good fight. We just didn't win," conceded House Speaker John Boehner as lawmakers lined up to vote on a bill that includes nothing for Republicans demanding to eradicate or scale back Obama's signature health care overhaul.
Still, there were a number of Republicans who refused to support the bill:
• Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)• John Cornyn (R-Texas)
• Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
• Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
• Mike Enzi (R-Wy.)
• Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
• Dean Heller (R-Nev.)
• Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)
• Mike Lee (R-Utah)
• Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
• James Risch (R-Idaho)
• Pat Roberts (R-Kan.)
• Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
• Tim Scott (R-S.C.)
• Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)
• Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)
• Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)
• David Vitter (R-La.)
Tea party-aligned lawmakers who triggered the shutdown that began on Oct. 1 said they would vote against the legislation. Significantly, though, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and others agreed not to use the Senate's cumbersome 18th century rules to slow the bill's progress.
In remarks on the Senate floor, Cruz said the measure was "a terrible deal" and criticized fellow Republicans for lining up behind it.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) (L) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) walk to a vote on Capitol Hill October 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. The US Senate passed legislation to compromise on budget and debt concerns to reopen the US federal government funding it to mid January address the debt limit till early February. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
"The compromise we reached will provide our economy with the stability it desperately needs," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, declaring that the nation "came to the brink of disaster" before sealing an agreement.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who negotiated the deal with Reid, emphasized that it preserved a round of spending cuts negotiated two years ago with Obama and Democrats. As a result, he said, "government spending has declined for two years in a row" for the first time since the Korean War. "And we're not going back on this agreement," he added.
Only a temporary truce, the measure set a timeframe of early next winter for the next likely clash between Obama and the Republicans over spending and borrowing.
But for now, government was lurching back to life. In one example, officials met to discuss plans for gearing back up at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where 307 employees remained at work during the partial shutdown and more than 8,000 were furloughed.
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 16: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) speaks at a press conference after the U.S. Senate voted to fund the federal government and raise the debt limit at the U.S. Capitol October 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. The Senate voted 81-18 to pass the proposal hammered out earlier in the day by Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Credit: Getty Images
After weeks of gridlock, the measure had support from the White House, most if not all Democrats in Congress and many Republicans fearful of the economic impact of a default.
Boehner and the rest of the top GOP leadership told their rank and file they would vote for the measure, and there was little or no doubt it would pass both houses and reach the White House in time for Obama's signature before the administration's 11:59 p.m. Oct. 17 deadline.
That was when Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said the government would reach the current $16.7 trillion debt limit and could no longer borrow to meet its obligations.
McConnell made no mention of the polls showing that the shutdown and flirtation with default have sent Republicans' public approval plummeting and have left the party badly split nationally as well as in his home state of Kentucky. He received a prompt reminder, though.
"When the stakes are highest Mitch McConnell can always be counted on to sell out conservatives," said Matt Bevin, who is challenging the party leader from the right in a 2014 election primary.
More broadly, national tea party groups and their allies underscored the internal divide. The Club for Growth urged lawmakers to vote against the congressional measure, and said it would factor in the organization's decision when it decides which candidates to support in midterm elections next year.
"There are no significant changes to Obamacare, nothing on the other major entitlements that are racked with trillions in unfunded liabilities, and no meaningful spending cuts either. If this bill passes, Congress will kick the can down the road, yet again," the group said.
Even so, support for Boehner appeared solid inside his fractious rank and file. "There are no plots, plans or rumblings that I know of. And I was part of one in January, so I'd probably be on the whip list for that," said Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce came out in favor of the bill.
Simplicity at the end, there was next to nothing in the agreement beyond authorization for the Treasury to resume borrowing and funding for the government to reopen.
House and Senate negotiators are to meet this fall to see if progress is possible on a broad deficit-reduction compromise of the type that has proved elusive in the current era of divided government.
Additionally, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is to be required to produce a report stating that her agency is capable of verifying the incomes of individuals who apply for federal subsidies under the health care law known as Obamacare.
Obama had insisted repeatedly he would not pay "ransom" by yielding to Republican demands for significant changes to the health care overhaul in exchange for funding the government and permitting Treasury the borrowing latitude to pay the nation's bills.
Other issues fell by the wayside in a final deal, including a Republican proposal for the suspension of a medical device tax in Obamacare and a Democratic call to delay a fee on companies for everyone who receives health coverage under an employer-sponsored plan.
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