Washington ? House and Senate Republican leaders Thursday finalized agreement on a long-sought $94.5 billion bill to pay for the war in Iraq and deliver a much-needed infusion of relief to Louisiana and other hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast states.

The bill won’t clear Congress for President Bush’s desk until next week, but the official submission of the deal eases Pentagon worries of a money crunch caused by weeks of delays in creating a compromise bill.

GOP leaders overcame the last snag to agreement – insistence by two Senate GOP moderates that the bill include a promise to increase future spending on education and health programs – by winning endorsement from Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.

The bill includes $65.8 billion for military operations and maintenance in Afghanistan and Iraq, personnel and energy costs and new weapons and ammunition and a $2 billion initiative to locate and disarm roadside bombs.

Lawmakers added funding to upgrade Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles for National Guard troops and nearly doubled the Pentagon request for new, better-armored Humvees.

The bill also contains $19.8 billion in new money for hurricane relief along the Gulf Coast, including housing aid and flood control projects for Louisiana, small business disaster loans, rebuilding federal facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina and replenishing Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief coffers.