WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Moderate Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are moving toward a deal on a stimulus package for the struggling U.S. economy, senior Democrats said on Friday.

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate’s second-ranking Democrat, said they were “moving toward agreement” after moderate lawmakers submitted a $780 billion compromise proposal that cut significant portions out of a measure which had swollen to $937 billion.

Another Democrat, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, was even more optimistic, saying “We’ve got a deal” after emerging from a meeting of Senate Democrats.