US Senate Democrats weighing short stopgap funding bill as alternative to government shutdown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Democrats are discussing a range of alternatives to a government shutdown that could begin at midnight Tuesday, including a seven-to-10-day funding bill along with other possible measures that could run concurrently, according to two Senate Democratic sources.

The sources, who asked not to be identified, said the plans, not yet approved by Democrats in Congress, would be aimed at averting government closures if no deal between Democrats and Republicans was in hand by the Tuesday night deadline when existing government funds expire.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Bo Erickson; Editing by Leslie Adler)