Top congressional leaders say negotiators are making slow but steady progress on a must-do spending bill to prevent a government shutdown next week and fund the battle against the Zika virus. A handful of tricky issues remain and the Senate's top Republican again delayed a procedural vote on the measure.
Congressional aides say that Republicans have offered to drop especially controversial provisions involving pesticide regulations and work schedules for long-haul truckers.
But the Senate's top Democrat says a battle continues to rage over a demand by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to make sure corporations do not have to disclose their spending on political activities to investors. And negotiators continue to grapple over which spending cuts would accompany the $1 billion-plus in Zika funding.