Democratic Rep. Tom Allen announced on Thursday he would oppose a $200 million spending bill to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which the House could vote on Friday or next week.

House Democratic leaders have said they will vote on three bills, including a spending bill to pay for the two wars and a bill that establishes a goal to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq.

“As the bill stands today, I will vote against it because it does not establish a firm, responsible deadline to bring our armed forces home and out of the crossfire of Iraq’s religious civil war,” Allen said in a statement. "I will continue to oppose any bill to fund this war that does not set a date certain to bring it responsibly to conclusion and bring our troops home. Anything less than a binding deadline is an open-ended commitment.”

The third bill, which Allen said he would vote to approve, includes money for domestic spending programs and new education benefits to pay a higher portion of college tuition for servicemen and women who enlisted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Allen opposed the war in Iraq from its start, voting against a congressional resolution authorizing the use of force in 2002 and voting for spending measures that included deadlines for withdrawal since the Democrats recaptured Congress in 2007.

President Bush has threatened to veto a measure that includes more than the $108 billion he requested for fiscal 2008 and $70 billion for fiscal 2009. He asked for another $5.8 billion to rebuild the levees in the Gulf Coast.

It is unclear when the Senate will consider a bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee said on Thursday that it would delay consideration of a war spending bill until next week.

“My patience is growing thin. I am putting my colleagues in both the House and Senate on notice that whether the House acts or not next week, the Senate Appropriations Committee will move forward with a markup,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., bypassed the House Appropriations Committee, shutting out Republicans who wanted a hand in helping to write – or at least shape – the bill. House Republicans have forced votes on a series of procedural motions to object to the process.