Spending bill to forgo withdrawal timelines

WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders will complete work as soon as Monday on a $500-billion spending package that will include billions of dollars for the war effort in Iraq without the timelines for the withdrawal of combat forces that Presi- dent Bush has refused to ac- cept, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said Friday.

In a complicated deal over the war funds, Democrats will include about $11 billion more in domestic spending than Bush has requested, emergency drought relief for the Southeast and legislation to address the subprime mortgage crisis, Hoyer told a meeting of the Washington Post’s editorial board.