Senate lawmakers are working on a bipartisan deal to fund the government until Dec. 9, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday.
The deal could included funding for the Zika virus and a vote could happen as early as next week, he said. McConnell said he is in talks with both Senate Democrats and the White House.
Funding through mid-December would go against the demands of many conservative groups and lawmakers, who fear it would put Congress in a position of having to pass a full-year funding bill in a lame-duck session, which could benefit Democrats.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., confirmed the talks but warned against the traditional provisions the majority typically
includes in must-pass spending legislation. “We want to make sure there are none of these vexatious riders in it,” Reid said. Funding for the government expires at the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30.
