Federal employees are back on the job.<br /> <br />The D.C. Metro is a lot busier, and the streets a bit more crowded as Washington reopened for business on Thursday.<br /> <br />The vote that sealed the deal came Wednesday night when Congress agreed on a measure to end the government shutdown and avoid default.<br /> <br />President Barack Obama says the self-inflicted crisis should have never happened.<br /> <br />SOUNDBITE: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:<br /> <br />"Let's be clear, there are no winners here. These last few weeks have inflicted completely, unnecessary damage on our economy."<br /> <br />The 16 day partial government shutdown that closed national monuments and kept hundreds of thousands of federal workers at home cost the economy an estimated 24 billion dollars.<br /> <br />SOUNDBITE: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:<br /> <br />"Nothing has done more damage to America's credibility in the world, our standing with other countries, than the spectacle we've seen these past several weeks."<br /> <br />And it could only be
