Congress to recess the end of next week

House and Senate leaders agreed Thursday that Congress will recess at the end of next week, returning in late November for a lame-duck session to finish its work, House Speaker Thomas O'Neill said.

Because of the deadline, the House took a step to ensure continued operation of government agencies in a stopgap measure that virtually covers the entire government until Dec. 15 -- provided the Senate passes it. Meantime, Congress continues work on 13 regular money bills for the new fiscal year starting Oct. 1 . The House has passed and sent to the Senate only four.