"As the federal government meets its responsibilities to the people of the Gulf Coast, it must also recognize its limitations," Bush said at a White House press conference.

"The engine that drives growth and job creation in America is the private sector, and the private sector will be the engine that drives the recovery of the Gulf Coast," said Bush.

"I've outlined a set of policies to attract private investment to the affected areas, to encourage small-business development and to help workers in need get back on their feet."

"I call on Congress to includes these measures in the recovery legislation that they send to my desk," the president said.

With estimates of post-Katrina reconstruction topping 200 billion dollars, Bush also urged Congress to find areas to trim in the federal budget, to prevent an already massive budget deficit from ballooning further.

"We here in Washington have got a vital role to play in the recovery and reconstruction efforts on the Gulf Coast," the president said, but added that the rebuilding effort must be paid for "in a fiscally responsible way."

"Congress needs to pay for as much of the hurricane relief as possible by cutting spending," Bush said, calling on lawmakers to impose "real cuts in nonsecurity spending."

His statement is at odds with that of Louisiana's two US senators, Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican David Vitter, who recently introduced legislation calling on the federal government to provide some 250 billion dollars to help their state rebuild from Katrina.

The massive, 10-year reconstruction plan includes some 180 billion dollars in direct federal spending, with the additional funds made up by various tax breaks, the two lawmakers said.

At least one lawmaker from Bush's Republican Party lauded the president's call for spending restraints.

"The federal government could not afford many of the programs we authorized before the hurricanes," said Representative Jeff Flake, "and we certainly can't afford them now."

But the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives called for greater fiscal discipline from the White House as well.

"I commend the president for pointing out that the Republican-led Congress is fiscally irresponsible," Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement after the speech.

"He is right: Republicans have failed to find cuts and control spending. But the president must share in the blame," Pelosi said.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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