With a potential government shutdown hours away on Friday, President Obama, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reached a last-minute agreement to continue funding government agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Under the agreement, Congress will consider a resolution this week to fund government agencies for the rest of Fiscal Year 2011 and cut nearly $40 billion from FY 2010 levels, including $12 billion in cuts that were included in prior continuing resolutions.  According to the House Appropriations Committee, total spending in the bill is $1.049 trillion.

To fund the government until the broader agreement is enacted, Congress passed a new short-term resolution that continues funding through Friday, April 15.