The deal to end the U.S. debt-ceiling standoff contains some important compromises.

It allows the debt ceiling to rise by up to $2.4 trillion — enough to keep the country borrowing money until 2013.

It includes spending cuts that could reach $2.5 trillion, to exceed the amount of the debt ceiling increase.

It initally cuts spending by at least $900 billion over 10 years, and creates a bipartisan budget committee to find additional deficit reduction of at least $1.5 trillion.

If the committee fails by late November to find additional ways to reduce the deficit, the failure would trigger automatic cuts across the government to take effect in 2013. Among them would be the first reduction in Defense Department spending in decades.

The deal does not include the Republicans' goal of requiring a balanced-budget amendment. It also leaves out the Democrats' plan to end some tax cuts for the wealthy.