"They're just going through the motions," said a Republican legislative aide.

Republican aides said several members of Congress were outraged.

Republican aides said it was not clear whether the lawmakers would accept the offer or come up with a counter proposal.

Republican aides have been working to reconcile the different Senate and House bills.

Republican aides said after the hearing that the White House was likely to work out these issues with each senator.

Republican aides said they would try to deliver the legislation to the White House either late tonight or Friday.

"The problem was no communication," said a Republican legislative aide.

Republican aides said the lawmakers would await the outcome of the investigation before deciding whether to press for hearings.

Republican aides said that the cuts to offset the $5 billion increase for education would reduce those spending levels further, by about 2.6 percent all told.

"Every Republican they could find is already in the district," a Republican legislative aide said.

Another Republican aide called such a tactic unlikely, saying it would be too controversial.

"It's basically a way for a senator to say, 'Pay attention to me,"' the Republican aide said.

But the efforts to override the two vetoes have little chance of success, Republican aides say.

In his absence, Republican aides repeated arguments they had made last week.

"People are focused on the election," the Republican aide said.

Staging a filibuster may draw too much negative publicity, Republican aides said today.

And a top Republican aide called the report "a Chinese menu" because of its many options.

Said one Republican aide, "If this were done by secret ballot, it would go down in flames."

The Republican aides said that if the debate happened now and the bill could become effective quickly, some Democrats might worry about voting for it.

The managers intend to use all but 30 minutes for their initial presentation, the Republican aide said.