Congress did what it had to do, and then with a stroke of his pen so did President Barack Obama, avoiding a shutdown of the federal government -- for two weeks, anyway.

The U.S. Senate voted 91-9 Wednesday to pass a House bill that will fund the government for two more weeks, cutting $4 billion in spending in the process. Funds to keep the government running have only been appropriated through Friday. President Barack Obama ended the immediate tension by signing the bill into law late Wednesday afternoon and preventing a shutdown.

A group of insurers is hoping to move a series of bills through the Legislature this year that tackle some of their industrys toughest problems in Florida.

Some of the bills, like those addressing suspicious sinkhole claims, have been filed and are working their way through the committee process; others, like those attempting to make Citizens Property Insurance actuarially sound, are still being drafted by legislators.

A bill eliminating unemployment benefits for criminals and raising the standards and accountability for those receiving benefits passed through its first committee stop Tuesday.

Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, who chairs the Commerce and Tourism Committee, sponsored Senate Bill 728 and said that the recent economic implosion which led to large debts and interest payments to the federal government have pushed the need for reform.

There were thousands of businesses that used to pay into the system that are now out of business, Detert said.