Bush: U.S. Economy Remains 'Envy of World'

U.S. President George W. Bush waves to members of the press as he cycles in the grounds of G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- President Bush, in Russia for a meeting of the world's economic powers, on Saturday credited his "pro-growth policies" for new U.S. budget deficit figures that are lower than earlier estimates.

"By pursuing pro-growth policies and restraining government spending, we will keep our economy the envy of the world," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

Earlier in the week, the White House released figures estimating that the difference between what the government spends and what it collects in revenue for the budget year ending Sept. 30 will be $296 billion, an improvement over the $423 billion that was predicted in February.

The figure would be a slight improvement over last year's deficit of $318 billion.

Since the announcement, however, escalating cross-border violence between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas based in Lebanon has generated worldwide concern and sent already soaring prices for a barrel of oil even higher.

Higher oil prices pulled stocks sharply lower for a third straight day Friday, causing the Dow Jones industrial average to shed nearly 400 points over the period.

Bush did not mention the Mideast violence in the radio address. Focused on the budget, he said the economic growth that followed various tax cuts has helped send revenue soaring, in turn filling government coffers.

"When the economy grows, businesses grow with it, people earn more money, and they pay taxes on this new income," he said.

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