Congress nears deal on year-end funding

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/79040.html

House and Senate leadership Thursday approached a deal to fund the government for six months — a move that would avert a Sept. 30 shutdown, and keep the federal government operating through March.

The deal would keep the government funded at the same levels of last year’s debt limit law, a spending level Republicans have consistently dismissed as too high. But it would also avert a messy pre-election showdown over shutting down the government, something neither party wants.