White House defends increased federal role

White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer Thursday said the need to respond to last month's terrorist attacks justified a new philosophical approach, indicating that President Bush is prepared to sanction a far larger federal role in the economy than he would have allowed only weeks ago.

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are grumbling that the administration seems too eager to embrace new funding initiatives. Bush in recent days has called for a stimulus package of up to $75 billion and agreed to $686 billion in new spending for fiscal 2002, some $25 billion higher than allowed under the FY02 budget resolution.

"The President thinks that at a time of war, it's not a normal time for the usual ideologies," Fleischer said. "People need help, and in a time of war, it is principally the government that is the best instrument to help people."

Fleischer contrasted Bush's new, if perhaps temporary, enthusiasm for federal intervention with his attitude toward taxation. For Bush, cutting taxes to stimulate the economy "remains a bedrock of his beliefs," Fleischer said.

And Bush still wants to ensure that new spending does not get out of hand.

"This is another enduring principle--[it is] at all times important to keep an eye on taxpayer dollars," Fleischer said. Noting that there will be an "unlimited" number of groups "coming out of the woodwork seeking money," Fleischer called for "reasonable limits" on the stimulus package in order to avoid pushing up long-term interest rates.

Fleischer also argued that the $686 billion FY02 spending figure is 7 percent higher than spending last year, saying those who see an 8 percent increase are failing to count $5.5 billion in emergency spending agreed to earlier this year as part of the FY01 baseline. Bush began the year by insisting that Congress raise spending by no more than 4 percent.