Bush Announces Economic Stimulus Plan

This just in.

President Bush on Friday called for about $145 billion worth of tax relief to stimulate a sagging economy and fend off a possible recession.

Bush said that to be effective, an economic stimulus package would need to roughly represent 1 percent of the gross domestic product — the value of all U.S. goods and services and the best measure of the country's economic standing. White House advisers say that, in current terms, 1 percent would amount to around $145 billion, which is along the lines of what private economists say should be sufficient to help give the economy a short-term boost.