House OKs War Funds Tied to Troop Withdrawal

The House tonight defied President Bush and tied a $50 billion bill to fund the war in Iraq to a timetable for troop withdrawal. The measure, which passed 218-203, is not expected to make it out of the Senate. If it does, however, Bush has promised to veto it. The bill requires troop withdrawals to start within 30 days, with a goal of completing the redeployment by December 2008.

The bill is only a quarter of Bush's nearly $200 billion request for combat operations. The Bush administration opposes setting any kind of timetable for withdrawal. Nancy Pelosi said before the vote that the House would not take up any more war funding measures this year, even if this one fails to pass the Senate or survive a veto. (More Iraq stories.)