After a fierce lobbying effort, House Democrats said today they are edging closer to the 218 votes needed to pass a massive war spending bill setting a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said he anticipates scheduling a vote Thursday on the bill (HR 1591), but acknowledged there are not yet enough votes to pass it.

“We’re closer today than we were yesterday,” Hoyer said, confirming reports from leadership aides that at least two new Democrats would support the bill.

The $124.3 billion measure exceeds President Bush’s fiscal 2007 supplemental request by $21.3 billion and contains spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as for such domestic priorities as agriculture disaster relief and children’s health insurance. The most controversial provision would require a withdrawal of most U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as Jan. 1 but no later than the end of August 2008.

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s version includes Iraq withdrawal language and total spending of $121.6 billion, slightly less than the House version, said Margaret Wicker, spokeswoman for the committee’s ranking Republican, Thad Cochran of Mississippi.