Members of the House are set to hear from him in a closed briefing on Wednesday afternoon, just hours before the spending measure is to reach the floor.

In a reflection of the sense of crisis, after casting their votes the lawmakers remained in the House chamber for a closed briefing on bioterrorism.

The vote on the 15-word House bill came after a rare 90-minute closed briefing on the floor attended by about 250 lawmakers.

General Gutierrez was treated to closed briefings by White House, Drug Enforcement Administration and intelligence officials, Administration officials said.

Ms. Chandler's explanation differs markedly from the description of the program that a senior bureau official gave Congressional staff members last week in a closed briefing.

The panel will first hold a closed briefing to hear an assessment from the Director of Central Intelligence, George A. Tenet.

During a closed Congressional briefing, almost 50 senators this morning watched a videotaped interview with captured Americans.

In closed briefings last week at the Capitol, the analysts were instructed by senior officials not to mention their recommendations.

United States officials did not provide the Bonn Government with much of the electronic and human intelligence data that was given in closed briefings to Congress, Adminisitration officials say.

In a closed briefing at the Capitol, senators heard that computer failures in Russia could blind early-warning radar and lead to false alarms of nuclear attacks.