The new law also puts in place new budget rules to curb growing annual deficits. Known as "paygo"
- for "pay as you go" - the rules require future spending increases or tax cuts to be paid for with tax increases or other spending cuts.
If the rules are broken, the White House budget office would force automatic cuts in programs like Medicare and farm subsidies. Most other benefit programs, including Medicaid, Social Security and food stamps, would be exempt.
The debt limit was increased from $12.4 trillion to keep the U.S. from going into default.
Obama signed the bill privately Friday at the White House.
