WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Negotiators in the U.S. Congress neared agreement on Monday on a massive government spending deal that would avert a government shutdown, as Republicans and Democrats insisted they want to pass a fresh round of aid to a coronavirus-hit nation. Lawmakers, facing a midnight Friday deadline, were scurrying to put the finishing touches on a $1.4 trillion spending bill for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. Lawmakers hope to attach the aid to the funding measure. At stake is money for programs ranging from healthcare, homeland security and military readiness to foreign aid, national parks and nutrition. They have been operating on temporary funding since October. A source familiar with the talks said negotiators were near agreement on the government spending bill and have only a “few small items” still open. The source declined to provide further detail. Without a deal, the government would have to begin shutting non-emergency programs and furloughing many workers. Members of the Republican-run Senate and Democratic-led House of Representatives have a second major task: deciding the contours of a coronavirus aid bill that could approach $1 trillion amid a worsening pandemic that has claimed the lives of nearly 300,000 Americans. Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said his party was ready to pass something and called on Democrats to do the same. The health crisis has also brought an economic crisis, with millions of Americans left jobless and businesses struggling to stay afloat. ‘HUGE DOSE OF RELIEF’ “The next several days are going to bring about one of two outcomes,” McConnell said as he opened the Senate. “Either 100 senators will be here shaking our heads, slinging blame and offering excuses about why we still have not been able to make a law. Or, we will break for the holidays having sent another huge dose of relief out the door for the people who need it,” he said. McConnell said funding for personal protective equipment, vaccine distribution and extended unemployment should be in any package. Some moderate lawmakers were to unveil their own bipartisan aid bill, offering two separate proposals that could be voted on separately. One would be a $748 billion proposal including aid to small businesses, the unemployed and vaccine distribution. The other would include sticking points such as liability protections for business, which are backed by Republicans, and $160 billion for state and local governments, a Democratic priority. Local public health agencies worry that they will not have enough money to carry out a massive COVID-19 vaccination program if there is no deal, even as the first U.S. doses of Pfizer Inc’s vaccine were administered on Monday. President-elect Joe Biden has urged Congress to act quickly on coronavirus aid before he takes office on Jan. 20. Even if it does, his new administration likely will seek another round of aid next year. With twin goals of stimulating the economy and financing purchases of medical supplies, Democrats and Republicans are faced with deciding who should receive new help beyond over $3 trillion appropriated last spring. Democrats have been pushing hard for aid to state and local governments to insure against laying off more workers, including police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel. Republicans have generally resisted this, accusing Democrats of wanting to create a “slush fund” for cities and states controlled by members of their party. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party still wanted that aid. “We believe state and local is the right thing to do. That’s it,” he told reporters.