(Dow Jones) -- Congress appeared to be nearing a final deal to keep the government funded through early December after House leaders agreed to include assistance for residents of Flint, Mich., in a water resources bill.
Lawmakers have struggled to reach an agreement over what should be included in a stopgap spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, that would keep the government running through Dec. 9 after its current funding expires at midnight on Friday. Democrats had balked at the latest version of the measure, which includes flood relief for certain states, but no assistance for Flint residents, whose drinking water became contaminated with lead in 2014.
But Democrats' concerns looked likely to be assuaged after House leaders agreed late Tuesday night to vote Wednesday on an amendment to the water resources bill, currently being considered by the House, that would authorize $170 million in aid for Flint residents.
The Senate water bill, passed earlier this month, includes Flint assistance that is structured differently. An aide to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said the new House amendment from Reps. Dan Kildee (D., Mich.) and John Moolenaar (R., Mich.) represents an agreement between Mrs. Pelosi and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) that would ultimately provide the necessary funding for Flint -- once negotiators from the House and Senate hash out a compromise version of the bill when Congress returns to Washington after the election.
The House Flint amendment "will help unlock the continuing resolution, which has been stalling in the Senate, which now I think will be unstuck," Mr. Ryan said Wednesday morning in a discussion at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said that he and the Senate Republican who oversees water-infrastructure issues had "pledged to continue to pursue resources for Flint" through separate legislation. As a result, Mr. McConnell said, "we are hopeful that we will soon reach an agreement with our Democratic colleagues to move forward" on the spending bill later Wednesday.
But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., suggested that a deal wasn't done yet. "I do have some concern," Mr. Reid said, wondering "why can't they just say they'll do it?" Still, he said that "I'm glad to see progress has been made," and while "we're not there yet but I hope that we can get that done expeditiously."
Securing Flint aid in both chambers' water bills appeared likely to ease the last remaining sticking point preventing passage of the stopgap spending bill, which stalled in the Senate on a procedural vote Tuesday. Senate Democratic aides said lawmakers needed to discuss the latest developments, but that securing Flint aid in the House water bill appeared likely to enable passage of the spending bill, which GOP leaders support.
The spending bill, which could come up for a vote as soon as Wednesday in the Senate, also includes $1.1 billion to combat the Zika virus and $500 million for disaster recovery in Louisiana and other states.
If passed by the Senate, the spending bill would likely come up for a vote Thursday or Friday in the House. Some House Democrats are still expected to oppose the spending bill, because they wanted to secure immediate Flint funding. Some Democrats are also unhappy that they weren't able to remove language from the spending bill that prevents the Securities and Exchange Commission from working on a rule that would require publicly traded companies to disclose political contributions.