Senate setting up Zika conference

The Senate will be voting on an  agreement to begin talks with the House on a long-disputed Zika funding package, reports the Hill.

Republicans are preparing procedures to choose member that will merge the Senate's $1.1 billion bipartisan package with the House's $622 million bill.

"I think we may well have a breakthrough this afternoon where we can get to conference, and then I think things will come to a conclusion pretty quickly," Sen. John Cornyn said. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's spokesman Don Stewart added the GOP is "still hoping to get that done tonight." Neither would provide details of the plan.

The move is a complicated because the Senate and House have different bills. The Senate's funding has been attached to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs spending bill, while the House approved a standalone bill.

Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, who is also the head of negotiations in the House, also told reporters he believed a deal would come later on Wednesday with the conference beginning work immediately.