WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leaders are contemplating legislation that would give President George W. Bush $70 billion in new funds for war but without any timetables for withdrawing troops from Iraq, The Washington Post reported on Saturday. The deal would also include about $11 billion in additional domestic spending through September 2008 that Bush had opposed, said the Post, quoting House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who met with the paper's editorial board on Friday. Still unclear, however, is whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a vocal opponent of the Iraq war, would go along with the unconditional money for combat after several attempts in the House to bring the fighting to an end. In November, Pelosi, a California Democrat, warned there would be no more votes in the House this year on Iraq funding. Conservative Republicans in the House have warned against the additional domestic spending that Democrats want for programs such as heating assistance for the poor and expanded health and education programs. Referring to the possibility of $70 billion more for the war in a broad budget deal, out of $196 billion Bush has requested, Hoyer told The Washington Post, "Everybody knows he has no intention of signing anything without money for Iraq, unfettered, without constraints. I think that's ultimately going to be the result." The House could vote as early as Tuesday on a nearly half-trillion-dollar spending bill to fund an array of government programs. The measure could contain about $30 billion for the war in Afghanistan and other military needs, congressional aides have said. But the Senate would then increase the war funding to about $70 billion, which would then be approved by the House, under the scenario Hoyer sketched out. Congress is trying to resolve the funding dispute with Bush before taking a long break that could start in a week or two. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
