Washington ? Unwilling to concede defeat, congressional leaders expressed hope Sunday that lawmakers could return next month to resolve a turf battle that has blocked passage of an overhaul of the nation’s intelligence agencies. President Bush pledged to work with them for passage.

Congressional leaders said prospects depended on how successful Bush was in lining up support.

“For us to do the bill in early December it will take significant involvement by the president and the vice president,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. “It will take real focus on their part.”

At a news conference after an economic summit in Chile, Bush said: “I was disappointed the bill didn’t pass. I thought it was going to pass up to the last minute.”

He said he and Vice President Dick Cheney had talked with key members of the House, and “it was clear I wanted the bill passed.” He did not respond directly to a question about whether opposition from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld contributed to the deadlock.

Bush noted that Congress would return for another effort in December. “Hopefully, we’ll get a bill done,” Bush said, promising to work with interested parties. “When I get home I look forward to getting it done.”

During a chaotic Saturday that was intended as the final meeting of the 108th Congress, negotiators announced a compromise on the intelligence bill. Hours later, opposition from the Republican chairmen of two committees stymied the legislation, which would create a national intelligence director.

Reflecting Pentagon concerns about the legislation, California Rep. Duncan Hunter of the House Armed Services warned that the bill could interfere with the military chain of command and endanger troops in the field. Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner of the House Judiciary Committee demanded that the bill deal with illegal immigration.

Congress did manage to pass a 3,000-page, $388 billion spending bill that covers most nondefense and nonsecurity programs for the budget year that began Oct. 1.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., left, talks with Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., after they discussed the failure of the the intelligence reform bill on Fox

Congress had worked for three months on legislation that carries out the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission for a director of national intelligence and a national counterterrorism center.

The legislation has met resistance from Rumsfeld and other Pentagon leaders who do not want to cede control of the intelligence budget. The Pentagon now controls roughly 80 percent of the estimated $40 billion spent on intelligence each year.

“It’s well-known that the secretary of defense wasn’t enthusiastic about this loss of budget authority,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, GOP Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, said it was a “false claim” that the bill would endanger the relationship between intelligence agencies and the military.

While acknowledging opposition from the Pentagon, Roberts also said some had come from the White House “despite what the president has said.”