Washington — Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives and White House officials have reached a bipartisan agreement on a war-spending bill that includes a major expansion of college-tuition benefits for veterans, the Associated Press reported.

The House passed the tuition benefits a month ago but refused to provide funds for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A week later, the Senate approved the bill — after restoring billions of dollars for the wars. Since then, members of the House had been negotiating with the White House on a compromise measure.

Democratic and Republican leaders of the House announced the agreement this afternoon. Both chambers of Congress are expected to approve the measure, and the House could vote as early as Thursday, the AP reported. Jim Nussle, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, signaled that President Bush would sign it.

Final details of the tuition benefits are to be announced on Thursday, but essentially the measure would guarantee that veterans who have served in the military for at least three years since September 11, 2001, would receive tuition aid up to the cost of attending the most-expensive public college in their state, plus a monthly stipend for housing costs.

The measure also includes $2.6-billion in additional disaster aid for areas in the Midwest that are experiencing catastrophic flooding, and $5.8-billion that Mr. Bush sought for flood-control projects around New Orleans. —Charles Huckabee