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U.S. Senators reached a tentative deal on a $780 billion economic stimulus package late Friday, according to media reports.

The deal is much smaller than the $940 billion package that was being considered this week and comes after a long day of hard negotiations Friday. Those negotiations came after a long week that included working late into Thursday night.

After trying all day Thursday to reach a deal, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., sent senators home around 9 p.m. that night, saying it was clear the Senate was not going to reach agreement on the package then.

Less than three hours earlier, he had told senators that he wanted to finish work on the package that night.

“If necessary, we’re going to work through the night,” Reid said. “I can’t imagine what would happen to financial markets tomorrow if there are reports this bill might go down. … It’s not a pleasant picture.”

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said “the question is not doing nothing vs. doing something.”

“The question is the appropriateness of an almost trillion-dollar spending bill to address the problem," he said.

As the Senate took up numerous amendments to what was a $940 billion package, a group of about 20 moderate senators from both parties tried to work out a compromise that would cut around $100 billion in spending from the bill.

Those talks will continue Friday, as will Senate action on additional amendments.

Melody Barnes, who directs the White House’s Domestic Policy Counsel, said Thursday afternoon that the president is “interested and open to a conversation” about alternative proposals.

Earlier that day, however, President Barack Obama indicated he was growing impatient with the Senate.

“The time for talk is over,” Obama said. “The time for action is now, because we know that if we do not act, a bad situation will become dramatically worse. Crisis could turn into catastrophe for families and businesses across the country.”

“Doing something wrong quickly does not make it right,” countered Sen cash advance america. John Ensign, R-Nev.

Ensign and other Republicans said Congress should focus on restoring the health of the housing market, not spend billions of dollars on new government programs that have little immediate impact on the economy.

“Make a distinction between what grows the economy and what doesn’t,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “Anything that doesn’t ought to be cut out.”

He said the bill includes “hundreds of billions of dollars” in nonstimulus spending and interest payments.

The Senate rejected a $420 billion Republican alternative, sponsored by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Thursday afternoon on a 57-40 vote.

This bill included money for infrastructure spending, assistance for the housing market, a reduction in the corporate tax rate, a payroll tax holiday and an extension of unemployment benefits.

"We all know that we have to stimulate this economy and create jobs,” said McCain, the Republican nominee for president in 2008. “The question is how you do it — profligacy, or I believe a mature and responsible approach."

Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., said state and local taxes “would go through the roof” in a few months if Congress doesn’t pass the economic stimulus package. The legislation includes aid to states and localities to help them avoid cuts in Medicaid coverage and school funding.

On Thursday, the Senate approved by voice vote an amendment that would limit executive compensation and spending on entertainment, office renovations and transportation at companies that receive federal investments from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

On Wednesday, the Senate adopted an amendment that would offer homebuyers a tax credit of up to $15,000, as long as they live in the house for three years. The amendment added $19 billion to the cost of the legislation.

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