As the war in Iraq entered its fifth year today, President Bush called on Congress to pass a supplemental spending bill providing $95.5 billion for military operations “without strings and without delay.”

The House is expected this week to begin debating the bill, which includes language setting timetables for removing most U.S. combat troops from Iraq by August 2008 if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks.

The bill would appropriate more than $124 billion, and contains aid for hurricane victims and domestic spending ranging from veterans’ health care to agriculture relief to low-income heating assistance in addition to war funding.

Bush said lawmakers “have a responsibility to pass a clean bill that does not use funding for our troops as leverage to get special interest spending for their districts.” He has previously threatened a veto over the timetables.

In a floor speech marking the anniversary of the war’s start, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., urged members to vote for the bill and rejected Bush’s criticism.

“It is time that the Congress of the United States does not simply rubber-stamp the president’s request,” Hoyer said.