Congress reaches bipartisan deal on federal budget

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D-WA) walk past the Senate chamber on their way to a press conference to announce a bipartisan budget deal, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, at the U.S. Capitol on December 10, 2013 in Washington, DC. The $85 billion agreement would set new spending levels for the next two years and create $63 billion in so-called 'sequester relief.'

Yesterday, the House Budget Committee chairman, Republican Paul Ryan, and Democratic Senator Patty Murray announced a compromise on the budget. They did it a whole 35 days before the January 15th deadline.

Yesterday, the House Budget Committee chairman, Republican Paul Ryan, and Democratic Senator Patty Murray announced a compromise on the budget. They did it a whole 35 days before the January 15th deadline:

Paul Ryan: "We've been talking all year, and this week that hard work of the two of us sitting down and talking to each other all year has paid off."

Patty Murray: "We have broken through the partisanship and the gridlock, and reached a bipartisan budget compromise that will prevent a government shutdown in January."

For more on this deal, we're joined by Todd Zwillich, the Washington correspondent for Public Radio International.