President declares economy 'robust'

STERLING, Va. -- President Bush yesterday offered a preview of his State of the Union address later this month, telling an audience of business leaders that the US economy is ''robust," but that Congress should enact his economic proposals to make it even stronger.

''I'm going to go to Congress here pretty soon and call on them to put economic policy, energy policy, health policy in place that understands that this economy is strong, but we need to do the right things to keep it going -- with the centerpiece of our economic policy being the small business in America," Bush said.

Speaking before about 500 people at a warehouse at J&K Moving and Storage, Bush said he would ask Congress to make his tax cuts permanent, cap potential damages from lawsuits, expand individual health savings accounts, fund programs to find technological alternatives to foreign oil, and do more to expand the use of community colleges.

Many of the proposals echoed policies the administration has touted for some time, and were standard features of Bush's domestic issues stump speech during his 2004 reelection campaign.

In his speech yesterday, Bush repeatedly touted the strength of the nation's economy, saying jobs, manufacturing, productivity, and home ownership were all growing. He said the economy had overcome the 2001 terrorist attacks, war, and high energy prices because of his tax cuts.

''Things are going well . . . in the economy," Bush said. ''We added 4.6 million new jobs since April of 2003. What I'm telling you is the tax plan is working. . . . Things are going fine."

But Bush's speech drew immediate fire from Democrats. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, said Bush was ''out of touch with average Americans."

Kennedy said Bush was trying to ''put a pretty face on the ugly economic truth," saying that real wages were falling when adjusted for inflation, that poverty rates among minimum-wage workers are getting higher, that consumer debt is at record levels, and that the costs of home ownership and energy for winter heating are soaring.

During a question-and-answer period following his speech, Bush ruled out the possibility that his wife might run for the Senate. Asked whether Laura Bush would run for a Senate seat from Texas, Bush replied categorically.

''Never," he said, turning down a request that he ask his wife whether she wanted to become a politician. ''No, I'm not going to ask her. Never. You know, I think . . . I'm pretty certain when I married her, she didn't like politics or politicians."

He added: ''She's not interested in running for office. She's interested in literacy."

At another point in the session, Bush declared that the financial dealings of public officials should be ethical and transparent. His comment drew applause amid the widening corruption scandal in the nation's capital.

''Those of us in public office have the high responsibility to uphold the integrity of the process," Bush said. ''And people ought to be held to high standards. In Washington, D.C., there needs to be high standards for conduct of public officials."

Bush's 2004 reelection campaign recently donated to charity $6,000 in donations linked to Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to felony charges of fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe public officials in a deal that requires him to provide evidence about members of Congress.