President Obama on Monday signed a two-year budget deal that averts a showdown with Republicans over the debt limit and a potential government shutdown.

The president said the agreement “puts us on a responsible path” and paves the way for stronger economic growth.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Democrats and Republicans came together to set up a responsible, long-term budget process, and what we now see is a budget that reflects our values, that grows our economy, creates jobs, keeps America safe,” he said in the Oval Office.

Obama signed the bipartisan bill just one day before the Nov. 3. deadline after which the nation would have risked default on its debt if Congress did not renew its borrowing authority.

The agreement lifts spending caps and suspends the debt limit until 2017.

The deal, struck in the final days of John Boehner John Andrew BoehnerLongtime House parliamentarian to step down Five things we learned from this year's primaries Bad blood between Pelosi, Meadows complicates coronavirus talks MORE’s (R-Ohio) Speakership, is designed to end the fiscal battles that were a central part of Obama’s long-running feud with Republicans in Congress.

But Obama and congressional Republicans are expected to clash over policy riders to spending bills in December, such as a measure to defund Planned Parenthood.

Obama urged appropriators to avoid “getting sidetracked by a whole bunch of ideological issues that have nothing to do with our budget.”

“They're going to have to come up with spending bills,” he said. “And I’m confident that they can get it done on time."

Obama’s top priority in budget talks was to lift spending caps set by the 2011 Budget Control Act, and he got what he wanted. The agreement raises spending levels above those caps by $80 billion through September 2017, dramatically reducing the threat of a government shutdown in mid-December.

The pact also suspends the debt limit until March 16, 2017, leaving the next fight to the president's successor and allowing new Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) to begin his tenure without the threat of default.



This story was updated at 12:41 p.m.