No winners in budget showdown, Obama says

Federal employees are back on the job.

The D.C. Metro is a lot busier, and the streets a bit more crowded as Washington reopened for business on Thursday.

The vote that sealed the deal came Wednesday night when Congress agreed on a measure to end the government shutdown and avoid default.

President Barack Obama says the self-inflicted crisis should have never happened.

SOUNDBITE: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:

"Let's be clear, there are no winners here. These last few weeks have inflicted completely, unnecessary damage on our economy."

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.

SOUNDBITE: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:

"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."

And it could only be