Two members of Montana's congressional delegation say they are relieved that a government shutdown has been averted.

    But Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., say they are holding off on determining how they will vote when the compromise budget plan comes before Congress.

    Congressional leaders and President Barack Obama agreed to a compromise budget shortly before the midnight deadline. Failure to arrive at a pact would have resulted in the shutdown of non-essential services.

    Tester called a shutdown "the last thing our economy needs, it would have been irresponsible," he said. "And it would have cost jobs."

    Rehberg had a wait-and-see attitude about the proposed budget that calls for massive cuts in federal spending, though less than Republican leaders had called for.

     "I'm glad we were able to avert a costly shutdown," Rehberg said. "But I'm going to reserve judgment until I can see exactly what's in the final package."

    Rehberg is a member of the Tea Party Caucus, and some tea party supporters were critical of Speaker John Behner for compromising too much in negotiations with Senate Democrats and the White House.

    "I'm glad that we managed to reduce the deficit by $38.5 billion," he said. " But let's keep some perspective.  We've got a lot of work in front of us to restore fiscal sanity in Washington in order to create a pro-job environment for our small businesses."

    Tester said he too would wait until he had a chance to study the budget before making a decision, sayingn "The devil is in the details."

    A shutdown would have been "irresponsible, and it would have cost jobs," he said.

    " I look forward to making sure the plan is right for Montana before it earns my vote next week,” he said.

    Rehberg is challenging Tester, a Big Sandy resident, in the 2012 election.