Bush, declaring himself refreshed by victory in his first news conference since the November 2 election, gave scarce details of how he would achieve the goals.

He stuck to a promise to halve the record 2004 budget deficit of 413 billion dollars -- the gap between government spending and income -- by 2009 with a curb on spending, except for defense, and pro-growth policies.

Many analysts are skeptical that the deficit can be halved while financing a global "war on terror" without rolling back some of the nearly 1.9 trillion dollars in tax cuts Bush has passed.

Bush said the red ink could be mopped up with robust economic growth boosting government revenues if Congress ensured that spending bills were "fiscally responsible."

"With good economic policy that encourages economic growth, the revenue streams begin to increase. As the revenues streams increase, coupled with fiscal discipline, you'll see the deficit shrinking."

Bush called for budgetary reform in Congress, saying he would like to gain a "line-item veto" -- the power to reject expenditure items in a bill without rejecting the entire piece of legislation.

The president did not repeat a demand that Congress make his tax cuts permanent, a call he had made throughout the election campaign.

He promised to rewrite the tax system to make it simpler but vowed not to sneak in a tax increase.

Tax reform would be "revenue neutral," he told a news conference.

"If there was a need to raise taxes, I would say, 'Let's have a tax bill that raises taxes,' as opposed to, 'Let's simplify the tax code and sneak a tax increase on the people,'" Bush said.