Last-Minute Budget Deal Averts Federal Shutdown

President Barack Obama and leaders of Congress came to an agreement late Friday to narrowly avoid a government shutdown that would have furloughed thousands of federal workers.

The deal came with about an hour to spare before the midnight deadline as Democrats and Republicans came to a consensus to cut more than $38 billion from the federal budget.

Once the compromise was reached, Congress acted quickly to pass a measure to keep the government running until the budget can be officially approved next week.

“Last night, after weeks of long and difficult negotiations over our national budget, leaders of both parties came together to avert a government shutdown, cut spending and invest in our future,” said Obama during his weekly video address.

“This is good news for the American people. It means that small businesses can get the loans they need, our families can get the mortgages they applied for, folks can visit our national parks and museums and hundreds of thousands of Americans will get their paychecks on time—including our brave men and women in uniform.”

The agreement offers relief to the approximately 800,000 federal workers who would have been impacted by a shutdown, which would have been the first in more than 15 years. Failing to reach an agreement would have led to closure of national parks and monuments, and some active military members not getting paid while fighting in war zones.

Both sides could claim victory with the agreement. Republicans can point to one of the largest spending cuts in U.S. history, while Democrats stopped reductions to funding for Planned Parenthood.

Still, this agreement did not address the country’s long-term issue of tackling the federal deficit. There is also likely going to be a much larger battle on the horizon when it comes to passing a budget for the next fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1.

“The American people won when Congress voted to avoid a shutdown of the federal government,” said Maryland U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin in a statement. “Now it’s time to turn our attention to meeting the important challenges that face our nation. Those include reducing our deficit in a way that preserves important programs for American families, protecting our environment, and helping to grow our economy for the future.”

Locally, a shutdown would have led to the closure of such places as the , while thousands of workers at the pondered their short-term future.

In all, Maryland is home to 130,000 non-military federal employees—the largest contingent of workers in the state.

Maryland has a concentration of federal agencies, ranging from to the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, the Camp David presidential retreat in Thurmont and the Social Security Administration.

Patty Miller, a Perry Hall resident and , would have been forced to go to work without pay had the government shutdown not been averted.

"I'm relieved at this point," said Miller, adding that she fears the latest deal among lawmakers was only a temporary fix. "They played chicken and somebody caved. But will we have to go through this same thing again?"

Had there been a shutdown, several members of Congress, including Reps. and , pledged to forego pay and/or donate it to charity. Ruppersberger pledged Friday to donate his pay to the Army Emergency Relief Fund.

“My concern is that a shutdown would be a huge blow to our economic recovery, especially here in Maryland,” Ruppersberger told Patch in a recent interview. “This would have a direct impact on everything from our grocery stores to dry cleaners. It’s a multiplier effect. The bottom line is families in the private sector are going to be hurt very much.”

Perry Hall Patch editor Emily Kimball contributed to this story.