Democrats have reached consensus on the congressional war spending measure calling for a nonbinding timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The bill provides nearly $100 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It calls for U.S. troops to begin withdrawing no later than October 1 with a deadline of April of next year. A House vote is expected on Wednesday followed by the Senate on Thursday. At the White House, President Bush repeated his pledge to veto the bill.

President Bush: “I believe strongly that politicians in Washington shouldn’t be telling generals how to do their job. And I believe artificial timetables of withdrawal would be a mistake. An artificial timetable of withdrawal would say to an enemy just wait them out, it would say to the Iraqis don’t do hard things necessary to achieve our objectives, and it would be discouraging for our troops.”

Despite the president’s opposition, antiwar lawmakers and activists have also criticized the bill for providing more funds for the Iraq War and making the timetable nonbinding.