President Obama Meets With Congressional Leaders on Zika Money, Government Funding

— -- President Obama met with the top four leaders of Congress today at the White House, where an elusive agreement on emergency funding to combat the Zika virus and a bill to keep the government open after the fiscal year ends at the end of the month were among the top issues of discussions.

"My hope is that by the time Congress adjourns before the election that we will have an agreement in place to fund the government and that our Zika funding will be taken care of," the president told reporters in the Oval Office today.

The president said the leaders also discussed disaster relief, including the response to the Louisiana flooding, wildfires, and the water issues in Flint, Michigan.

Obama met with House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

"My hope is that we can make some modest progress in areas where we agree and we've been working together. After the election, I'm even more hopeful we can get some things done," the president said.

The Senate is already considering taking up a short-term spending bill to fund the government through Dec. 9, but the House has not determined how it will proceed. The Senate’s plan for the bill, called a continuing resolution, is to tack up to $1 billion in Zika funds onto the must-pass legislation.

“The leaders discussed their desire to reach a speedy resolution on a short-term spending bill, including funding for the Zika virus," an aide to Speaker Ryan said. "The speaker talked about his desire to get the appropriations process working, and told the leaders he objected to doing an omnibus spending bill later in the year."

Obama’s continued push to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during his trip to Asia, closing the detention facility in Guantanamo and his stalled nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court also figure to be among the priorities the president will address.

Heading into the meeting, Ryan slammed the president’s progressive legacy for its “historically weak” economic recovery, and consolidating the federal government's control of issues like health care, immigration and gun control.

“In more and more areas of American life, President Obama has given government the starring role and pushed the people into the wings,” the Wisconsin Republican wrote in The Washington Times. “He might consider this a success, but here's the true measure of progressivism: After eight years of it, the vast majority of Americans say we're on the wrong track.”

The president will also provide a briefing of his visit to Asia, which included stops in China for the G-20 summit of economic global powers and Laos, where he became the first U.S. president to visit when he attended a summit of Southeast Asian leaders.

Government funding runs out Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year.