WASHINGTON (AP) — Negotiators on Capitol Hill agreed Wednesday to try to extend a payroll tax cut worth about $1,000 this year for a typical worker through the end of the year.

But they remain far apart on how to pay for the extension, and for jobless benefits for millions, without swelling the national debt.

Working in a rare open meeting, a House-Senate panel Wednesday began its negotiations on the payroll tax and jobless benefits measure — core components of President Barack Obama's jobs agenda — by signaling progress on second-tier issues regarding overhauling unemployment insurance. But the talks soon ran aground over House GOP proposals to permit states to require unemployed people to pass drug tests to receive benefits or get high school diplomas.