Mr Bush was addressing an audience of business people

President George W Bush has called on US voters to petition their representatives in Congress to approve a tax cut of at least $550bn.

In a speech on Monday, Mr Bush said kick starting economic growth was more important than controlling the country's ballooning deficit.

He urged Americans to phone or e-mail their elected representatives to voice their support for his tax cut plan.

The package, which will stretch over the next 10 years, has been met with scepticism by many in Congress, as it is likely to lead to bigger government deficits.

Job creation

The US government already faces a record deficit of possibly $304bn in this financial year.

Democracy can work, particularly when a lot of people get on the phone or by e-mail George W Bush

But Mr Bush said he was more concerned about creating jobs - and returning cash to the economy to stimulate growth.

"I'm concerned about the deficit, but I'm first and foremost worried about that person looking for a job, and so should the United States Congress be worried about people looking for work," he told an audience of small business people in Little Rock, Arkansas.

'Democracy'

The Senate wants to limit the tax cuts to $350bn, a package Mr Bush derided on Monday as "little bitty."

Although the president's Republican Party controls both Houses of Congress, moderate Republicans in the Senate objected to the size of the tax cut when the final costs of the war against Iraq are still unknown.

Mr Bush said: "I would hope you'd call members of your congressional delegation to let them know what you think, let them know your opinion.

"Democracy can work, particularly when a lot of people get on the phone or by e-mail.

"Just let them know what's on your mind."

It was the first time President Bush has appealed directly to voters to turn up the heat on their elected representatives.

Voter worries

But his comments came as an opinion poll suggested there is only lukewarm support for tax cuts among US voters.

Just 22% said they favoured "a big tax cut" like the one proposed by the White House, the Harris poll suggested.

One in five adults (21%) said there should be no change to taxes and 13% said that, far from cutting taxes, Congress ought to reverse recent tax cuts.

Many respondents said they were worried the tax cuts would damage the economy by making the government deficit bigger.

Meanwhile, the Federal Open Markets Committee is due to begin its monthly interest rate meeting on Tuesday.

Most economists expect the Federal Reserve to keep rates on hold for the fourth month in a row, despite growing unemployment.

The Fed policymakers are expected to wait until the impact on the economy of the end of the Iraq war can be properly assessed before making a further move on rates.