WASHINGTON, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A key panel of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday endorsed a plan to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by September next year.

    On a 36-28 vote, the Appropriations Committee approved a 124-billion-U.S.-dollar emergency spending bill, which also sets the above deadline for troop withdrawal.

    The move marked the first time a congressional committee voted to limit the duration of the war.

    The full House is expected to debate the bill next week.

    On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted to continue debating a resolution to withdraw U.S. forces in Iraq by the end of next March.

    Both moves are efforts of the Democratic majority in the Congress to limit the Bush administration's war power.

    However, the prospects of passage of both pieces of legislation are uncertain.

    The White House has threatened a veto of any bill dictating a troop withdrawal.