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Top congressional leaders said Tuesday that negotiators are making slow but steady progress on a must-do spending bill to prevent a government shutdown next week and fund the battle against the Zika virus. Some tricky issues remain, but optimism was building that an agreement might be unveiled in the next day or two. Congressional aides said that progress included an offer from Republicans to drop especially controversial provisions that would have eased pesticide regulations under the Clean Water Act and blocked tighter regulations on the length of workweeks for truckers. (Taylor, 9/20)

With Florida's public laboratories taking as long as five weeks to deliver Zika test results to doctors and patients, federal and state health officials said this week that they are buying more supplies and equipment and hiring more workers to speed up the often lengthy process for diagnosing the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday that it had purchased about $2.5 million in laboratory resources to expand access to Zika testing and reduce wait times for results in several states, including Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott has repeatedly accused the federal government of failing to meet the state's needs. (Chang, 9/20)

Legislation to speed the approval of new medical cures will not move in Congress before lawmakers leave town for the election despite a last-minute push, lobbyists and aides said. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is not planning to introduce a new version of his 21st Century Cures Act before the recess after all, the sources said. However, he is still hoping to get the legislation passed in the lame duck session after the election. (Sullivan, 9/20)