U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said Friday night a deal to fund the government through the rest of the fiscal year with the White House and Democrats has been reached just minutes before crossing a deadline.

"I am pleased Senator Reid and I and the White House have been able to come to an agreement that will in fact cut spending and keep our government open," Boehner told reporters.

"This has been a lot of discussion and a long fight. We fought to keep government spending down," he added.

He said the House would vote on a "bridge" bill to fund government operations into next week, until the deal is ready for passage.

Speaking from the White House, President Barack Obama said the deal is the largest spending cuts in U.S. budget history, representing some US$78.5 billion cuts to his 2011 budget proposal.

Without an agreement by midnight on Friday, the U.S. government would have been forced to shut down, barring some 800,000 employees from working.