Politics & Government

Government Re-Opened, Federal Employees Called Back to Work Thursday

The federal Office of Personnel Management said federal employees who have been furloughed since Oct. 1 should expect to return to work on Thursday.

Congress voted Wednesday night to re-open the government and raise the debt limit, clearing the way for federal employees to return to work Thursday and avoiding a first-ever default.

The federal Office of Personnel Management said federal employees who have been furloughed since Oct. 1 should expect to return to work on Thursday.

The vote in the Senate was 81 to 18 and in the House of Representatives it was 285 to 144.

Among Orange County's Congressmen in the communities that Patch serves, Democrat Alan Lowenthal voted for the measure, as did Republican Darrell Issa. Republicans Dana Rohrabacher and John Campbell voted against.

"I am glad that this irresponsible shutdown has ended, and the full faith and credit of our country remains, for the moment, intact. Tonight’s vote proved that even after all other possibilities were exhausted, the majority of Congress did the right thing," Lowenthal said in a statement.

“The Reid-McConnell bill was a clear sign of bipartisan leadership from our friends in the Senate and I commend Speaker Boehner for allowing the House to vote on it."

The Treasury Department said in a report to Congress earlier this month that a default “would be unprecedented and has the potential to be catastrophic,” causing a "recession that could echo the events of 2008 or worse.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here