Congress Agrees on Spending Deal Likely to Avert Government Shutdown

WASHINGTON – Republicans and Democrats in Congress found a compromise way Thursday night out of a deeply partisan standoff that threatened millions of Americans with a big New Year's tax increase, the unemployed with loss of government benefits and the whole federal government with a shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said congressional bargainers were preparing a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut and expiring jobless benefits as a fallback plan in case negotiations on a yearlong package do not succeed.


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