The long national nightmare, as Gerald Ford might say, is over. After the Budget Control Bill sailed to approval in the Senate, garnering 74 “Ayes” and 26 “Noes,” President Obama signed the compromise he brokered with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The bill had previously passed in the House of Representatives by a margin of more than 100: 269 “Ayes” to 161 “Noes.” [Politico]

Now that the Bill has been signed into law, the question has been raised as to who will sit on the 12-member “Super Congress” to determine the eventual cuts that will be made to bring the deficit reduction to $2.1 trillion. Provisions have been made for each majority and minority leader to appoint three individuals. Names being tossed around by the punditry include Republicans John Kyl, Mike Crapo, and Paul Ryan, and Democrats Dick Durbin, Max Baucus, and Kent Conrad. [Washington Post]

Somewhat ironically, the budget reduction committee will come with an as-of-yet-undetermined, potentially very high, costs that are just beginning to be worked out. The costs will have to be determined shortly, as the new law requires it be convened within 45 days of the passage- today. [Roll Call]

The 2012 Republican candidates are using the passage of a debt deal as a soap box of sorts from which to discuss their views on the debt and deficit. Only former Utah governor Jon Huntsman has come out fully in support of the bill (though he referred to it as less-than-ideal), while Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and most recently Mitt Romney have come out in opposition to the deal, saying it does not go far enough. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Rick Perry, who has not entered the race but is widely speculated to be a late entrant, has kept completely silent on the matter. [Daily Caller]

Fitch has said that, even if the United States retains its AAA rating, the agency may well downgrade the country’s outlook to negative when it finishes ratings reviews at the end of August. [Reuters]

The surprise return of wounded Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was a high point of yesterday's successful debt ceiling vote in the House.

The Obama-McConnell compromise debt deal passed the House of Representatives, receiving 269 Ayes and 161 Noes. Prior to the Monday evening vote, there were concerns that the bill might not pass in that chamber, given resistance it was encountering from both sides of the aisle. However, a late endorsement by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi helped push it through, with about one-half of Democrats, including Pelosi, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, and Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn all voting yes. [CNN]

Additionally, Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords made an unexpected return to the House floor to vote “Aye” on the compromise bill. Representative Giffords has not been to the Capitol since sustaining a gunshot wound to the head in a January shooting in Tucson that left 13 wounded and 6 dead. Ushered in by her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, and applauded by her colleagues from both sides of the aisle, Giffords was reportedly alert and engaged with her fellow lawmakers, greeting many of them by name. [The Atlantic]

The House of Representatives website has a list of the “Ayes” and “Noes” recorded for the Obama-McConnell debt deal. Those in italics are Democrats, those not are Republicans [House.gov]

Perhaps proving that the deal was passed on the support of relatively moderate (and willing to compromise) member of the House, both far-right and far-left groups have taken issue with the compromise. Right-wing, usually Tea Party-affiliated, groups are complaining that cuts did not go far enough, while left-wing groups such as MoveOn.org have expressed concern that the deal has been made by placing burden on middle-class and elderly Americans. This is in spite of the fact that cuts are set to be completed in November while no cuts have been made in Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. [Roll Call]

Some are questioning the real power of Tea Party groups in debt negotiations after fully half of the members of the House Tea Party Caucus voted in favor of the Obama-McConnell deal in spite of vows that they would not vote for an increase in the debt ceiling under any circumstances. This comes on the heels of a poll that said that 53% of self-identified Tea Partiers supported a debt deal that included some combination of spending cuts and tax increases. [NY Times]

With the Obama-McConnell compromise bill passed in the House, it now moves on to the Senate, where it is expected to pass, but needs to do so in time to have the bill on President Obama’s desk by the end of Monday to avoid a default. The bill is set to be voted on at around noon, and though it is expected to pass by a wide margin, there needs to be unanimous consent. [NY Times]

Brookings Institution Fellow, former advisor to Bill Clinton, and No Labels Founding Leader Bill Galston has a piece in The New Republic detailing how President Obama could have better handled the budget crisis, including how it could have been avoided and better managed, especially during talks with Speaker Boehner. [The New Republic]

Google Chrome becomes the United Kingdom’s second most popular web browser. [The Guardian]

Mozilla releases a new Mobile OS called Gecko. Can it survive? [TheBitBag.com]

A programmer’s family tries to raise awareness after an X-Box addict dies from a blood clot. [Yahoo News]

The debt ceiling in popular culture. [New York Times]