Final details of the Senate bill were worked out in the last few days by Mr. Dodd and Senators Christopher S. Bond, Republican of Missouri, and Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon.
The authorization bill is worked out in private through months of hearings and negotiations between the intelligence agencies and the Congressional committees that oversee them.
Six of seven black senators had originally supported the bill, and one of their leaders, Senator Darrell Jackson, predicted that their votes would not change once the differences with the House bill were worked out.
The details of the bill were worked out by Senator Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee; Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Donna E. Shalala, the secretary of health and human services.
Disagreements over the bill were worked out in two years of intense behind-the-scenes negotiations that included members of both parties and people with disabilities, as well as the National Association of Manufacturers and the United States Chamber of Commerce.
Mark Meadows, leader of a conservative faction among Republicans in the House of Representatives, said on Monday he expected that an immigration bill being worked on by Republicans would fail.
And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised first responder advocate John Feal that a version of the bill would be attached to the government funding bill being worked on this week, although a similar pledge on paying for the measure was not offered.
In a strange way, this strategy mirrors the saga of the climate bill being worked on by Sens. Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman, which was introduced on Wednesday without the support of Sen. Graham.
Asked if the Senate could have a vote on a bill being worked up by the Senate Appropriations Committee by next week, well before Congress takes its August vacation, Reid suggested Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).
A similar bill is working its way through the Senate.
