By Dave Espo, Associated Press, 07/08/02

WASHINGTON -- President Bush denounced criticism of his past business practices as old style politics on Monday, and said "sometimes things aren't exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures."

Bush defended his business dealings at a news conference in which he also urged congressional action to provide funding for the military campaign against terrorism and for security at America's airports.

"Further delays are intolerable. Congress must act," Bush said as lawmakers returned to the Capitol from a July Fourth break.

Under questioning in the White House briefing room, Bush said the Securities and Exchange Commission had vetted transactions involving the Harken Energy Corp. a decade ago and "said there was no case."

The SEC, after an investigation in 1992, said it was not going to pursue questions involving Bush's sale of more than 212,000 shares of Harken stock just before the firm announced large losses.

The president also looked ahead to a planned speech on Tuesday in which he is expected to tell business leaders on Wall Street he wants greater attention paid to corporate responsibility.

"We'll vigorously pursue people who break the law. ... That will restore confidence" in the markets, he said.

Bush urged action in Congress on key items of his legislative agenda, including a measure to enhance his ability to reach global trade deals, create a new Department of Homeland Security and enact welfare laws.

"The agenda is full, the time is short and the nation is watching," the president said.

On another issue, he said he hasn't yet made a decision on how widely the government should administer smallpox vaccinations to guard against any outbreak of the disease caused by bioterrorists.

"I worry about calling for a national vaccination" because of the health risk it could pose to a limited number of people, he said.

Bush spoke as former top executives of WorldCom invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination rather than answer questions on Capitol Hill about a $4 billion hole in the company's books.

Both the president and Vice President Dick Cheney are former business executives and have been touched personally by the controversy over corporate ethics.

In the case of the president, White House officials have sought in recent days to answer questions about Bush's tardy reporting of stock sales in Harken Energy Corp., a Texas oil company where he served as a director before entering politics.

Cheney served as chairman and chief executive officer of Halliburton Co. before becoming vice president. The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into accounting methods the oil field services giant adopted in 1998 for reporting cost overruns on construction jobs.

Asked about the Harken case, Bush said he saw politics in the allegations against him.

"People are going to attack me based on Harken," he said. "That's nothing new. ... This is recycled stuff," he said.

"This was fully looked into by the SEC and there's no there there," he said.

Bush told reporters that the Harken case was a "complex transaction."

The president also gave a vote of confidence to the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Harvey Pitt has been fast to act," Bush said of a man who some Democrats say should be replaced as chief corporate enforcement officer for the government.

Bush opened his news conference with an emphatic call for Congress to provide the funds needed for troops to battle terrorists overseas.

Asked about Osama bin Laden, accused of being behind attacks that killed thousands in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania last Sept. 11, Bush responded that the war on terrorism was bigger than one man.

"We haven't heard from him in a long time," Bush said. "Whether or not Osama bin Laden is alive or not I don't know."