Senate leaders say nearing deals on budget, tax bills (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Democratic and Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate on Thursday expressed optimism that they can soon strike compromises on bills to keep the government running through September 30 and extend a payroll tax cut for one more year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hoped that negotiations will pave the way for Congress to wrap up its 2011 session "in the next few days." Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he was "confident and optimistic we'll be able to resolve both (bills) on a bipartisan basis." An extension of unemployment benefits is also expected to be part of a deal.

(Reporting By Richard Cowan; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/ts_nm/us_usa_taxes

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