President Obama signs measure averting default on debt

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has signed a measure averting default on the national debt and ending a partial government shutdown. The White House budget office says federal workers should plan to return to work Thursday morning. Passage of the bill late Wednesday in the House and Senate ended a Washington-created crisis that closed much of government for 16 days. It came on the eve of the date the Treasury Department warned it would no longer be able to borrow to pay the government's bills. The legislation was carried to passage in the House by strong support from Democrats and 87 yes votes from majority Republicans who had originally sought to use the measure to derail Obama's three-year-old health care law. The legislation will reopen the government through Jan. 15 and permit Treasury to borrow normally through Feb. 7