House to Battle Bush on Troops

The House could vote as soon as tomorrow on a bill that would provide $50 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars—a quarter of President Bush's request—and tie the money to a troop-withdrawal timetable. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the money is intended to fund about four month months of current operations levels. Bush vetoed a similar proposal in May.

"This is not a blank check for the president," Pelosi said. The bill has caused Congressional Republicans to sharpen their knives; the House GOP leader described it as "so irresponsible that it can only be explained as political stunt." Earlier, the House approved $460 billion in annual military spending—omitting money for combat operations—along with stopgap funding to keep the government in business into December. (More Iraq stories.)