WASHINGTON  The Bush administration is examining a range of options for providing emergency financial help to spur a merger between General Motors and Chrysler, according to government officials.

People familiar with the discussions said the administration wanted to provide financial assistance to the deeply troubled Big Three Detroit automakers, possibly by using the Treasury Department’s wide-ranging authority under the $700 billion bailout program that Congress approved this month.

Another option under consideration is to tap a $25 billion loan program that Congress just created to help the auto companies modernize their plants. A third option would involve going back to Congress, immediately after the Nov. 4 election, for authority to spend funds aimed specifically at the auto industry. But officials have not yet decided how much assistance to provide or how to structure any aid program.

G.M. and the parent of Chrysler, Cerberus Capital Management, are in talks to possibly merge the two companies, which are losing sales and hemorrhaging cash. People close to the talks said G.M. needs between $5 billion and $10 billion in assistance, mainly to cover G.M.’s own needs between now and the time of the merger.