A House-Senate compromise on a $20 billion anti-terrorism package is near, leaving congressional leaders hoping that this is the week the measure can finally be pushed through Congress. 
Bargainers from the two chambers neared agreement on the plan on Monday. It would heed President Bush's demand that it not exceed $20 billion, but provide less than he sought for defense and more than he proposed for domestic security and helping New York and other communities rebuild from the Sept. 11 attacks. 
Top lawmakers from the two chambers were tentatively planning to complete the agreement on Tuesday. That would clear the major remaining hurdle to Congress finishing its must-pass spending legislation and adjourning for the year, which leaders hope to do by week's end. 
The anti-terrorism package is attached to a $318 billion defense bill for the new fiscal year. The two other remaining spending measures are one for health, education and labor programs, and a second for foreign aid. 
Mr. Bush had repeatedly threatened to veto an anti-terrorism measure exceeding $20 billion. He has said the measure provides enough money now for the war in Afghanistan and the battle against terrorism, and that he will seek more funds early next year if necessary. 
Under heavy White House pressure, the House and Senate blocked Democrats in recent weeks from advancing packages worth at least $15 billion more. 
Yet the mix of spending the bargainers were discussing described by officials familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity tilted more toward Democrats. 
It would cut the $7.3 billion for the military that Mr. Bush wanted to roughly $3.5 billion to $4 billion, the officials said. The Democratic-controlled Senate provided $2 billion for defense. 
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In addition, a bit less than $8.5 billion would be set aside for domestic security programs, and about the same amount would be provided for the New York and Washington areas, where jets smashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Western Pennsylvania, where a fourth jetliner crashed, would get a small portion of those rebuilding funds. 
The exact defense figure would depend on whether money for the National Guard and rebuilding of the Pentagon were counted as spending for the military, and how much was provided for those efforts, the officials said. 
Mr. Bush proposed spending $4.4 billion for domestic security and $6.3 billion for the affected communities. The Senate approved $8.5 billion for domestic security and $9.5 billion for New York and Virginia. 
The tentative package would include $2.5 billion for public health and countering bio-terrorism, about $1 billion more than the president proposed. 
The $20 billion for anti-terrorism programs is half the $40 billion that Congress approved just days after the Sept. 11 attacks. Mr. Bush controls half the total, but the new legislation must be enacted detailing how the other half will be spent. 
All $40 billion was to come from what was once a projected federal surplus for this year. White House and congressional officials now expect a deficit this year, the first since 1997.