U.S. senators crafting bill to reopen gov't agencies for three weeks

A bipartisan amendment to temporarily reopen shuttered federal agencies will be unveiled in the U.S. Senate later on Thursday, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said, as lawmakers scurried to end a 34-day interruption to many government services.

"It will allow federal government employees ... to get back to work," Van Hollen said. The measure to fund several agencies for three weeks would give congressional leaders and President Donald Trump time to negotiate a deal on border security funding, which sparked the partial government shutdown on Dec. 22.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Peter Cooney)