Congress ‘close’ to massive government funding deal

Top negotiators are closing in on a massive government funding agreement – one of the final items on Congress’s to-do list before they wrap for the year.Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) on Friday described himself as optimistic about the chances of getting a deal before next week’s deadline.”We’re real close,” Shelby said about an omnibus deal.Though a deal on Friday is unlikely, Shelby said negotiators “could”…