US congressional negotiators said on Wednesday they have reached a deal on a $789 billion package of spending and tax cuts, handing a big victory to President Barack Obama in his effort to pull the economy out of a tailspin. But in a possible last-minute snag, negotiators delayed a meeting to vote on the compromise so lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives could be briefed. The compromise followed earlier approval of separate House and Senate bills whose differences needed reconciling. One congressional aide said there was no deal yet on money for school construction and states, key areas of difference. The Senate had cut out $16 billion for schools and $40 billion for states but Obama had sought the restoration of funds for schools. The massive package is aimed at reversing a deep recession that began 14 months ago, and news of the deal sent stock markets higher. Votes in both chambers on the compromise will likely be set for later this week. Democrats control both chambers in Congress and fellow Democrat Obama has pushed them for a quick conclusion to the legislation in hopes it will begin to create and save up to four million jobs in an economy that has seen millions of workers laid off. But his stimulus plan has met virtually no support among Republicans opposed to big government spending, underlining the scale of his task after he won election in November pledging to reach across party lines from the White House. In the Senate, passage of the bill depended on support from a handful of moderate Republicans. Negotiators in the House and Senate agreed to scale back earlier proposals for the package.
