Shutdown Averted: Obama Says Budget Deal Is 'Good News' for U.S.

April 9, 2011 — -- The last-minute budget deal to avert a government shutdown is an investment in the country's future, President Obama said today in his weekly address.

"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 president said.

"Reducing spending while still investing in the future is just common sense," he said. "That's what families do in tough times. They sacrifice where they can, even if it's hard, to afford what's really important."

The last-minute agreement reached Friday to keep the government funded for the next six months would cut approximately $38.5 billion from the 2010 budget baseline, officials said, and $78.5 billion from Obama's 2011 budget proposal.

It also would keep intact funding to Planned Parenthood and resist several other proposed Republican policy changes.

"We protected the investments we need to win the future," Obama said last night after the deal was struck. "At the same time, we also made sure at the end of the day this was a debate about spending cuts -- not social issues like women's health and the protection of our air and water. These are important issues that deserve discussion, just not during a debate about our budget."

The House and Senate passed temporary resolutions to keep the government funded beyond midnight, when it was scheduled to run out, until the full agreement could be drafted and passed by Congress. That short-term bridge included the first $2 billion in cuts, officials said.