WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House of Representatives voted 223-201 Thursday to require most U.S. troops to leave Iraq by April 1, 2008.art.bush.pelosi.gi.jpgPresident Bush vetoed a war-spending bill with a similar withdrawal date in May and has threatened to spike any new effort to set a timetable for a U.S. pullout. His Republican allies in the House said the new measure has no chance of passage.But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said Thursday's mixed report on the progress of the war shows it's time for American troops to come home."President Bush continues to urge patience, but what is needed -- and what the American people are demanding -- is a new direction," she said.Earlier Thursday, Bush said a report on U.S.-set benchmarks for Iraq shows "satisfactory progress" in eight areas. He admitted that there is "more work to be done."During his news conference, the president commented on the nation's psyche, declaring, "There's war fatigue in America. It's affecting our psychology. I understand that."This is an ugly war. It's a war in which an enemy will kill innocent men, women and children in order to achieve a political objective. It doesn't surprise me that there is deep concern amongst our people."Don't Miss * Bush: Reason for "optimism in Iraq" * Report card on Iraq war * Iraq pullout bill will be vetoed, Bush vowsThe president said it is not Congress' job to make decisions regarding the war.Before the House vote, Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer: We're the people who decide when to go to war, whether the war should be funded.
