WASHINGTON — The House is moving toward passage of a $585 billion defense policy bill that gives President Barack Obama the authority to expand U.S. military operations against Islamic extremists in Iraq and Syria.

The sweeping legislation authorizes spending for the nation’s defense, from construction of ships, planes and war-fighting equipment to a 1 percent pay raise for the troops, while maintaining the prohibition on transferring terror suspects from the federal prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States.

The House is expected to vote Thursday and send the measure to the Senate, where Republicans are divided over the inclusion of unrelated provisions expanding wilderness areas in the West. Proponents of the measure hope to finish the bill next week and send it to Obama for his signature.

In a rare instance of bipartisanship, Congress has passed the defense policy bill for 52 consecutive years. This year, work on the bill has added poignancy as the chairmen of the Armed Services committees in the Senate and House are retiring. Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin is leaving after 36 years; California Republican Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon is stepping down after 22 years.

The overall legislation endorses Obama’s latest request to Congress in the 4-month-old war against Islamic State militants who brutally rule large sections of Iraq and Syria. Obama sought billions for the stepped-up operation and the dispatch of up to 1,500 more American troops; the bill provides $5 billion.