What happened to the U. S. economy in the past two and a half years according to

President Bush says it is an exciting time for the U.S. economy which added more new jobs in the past two and a half years than the European Union and Japan combined. (23)He told business leaders in the northern state of New Hampshire that the $2. 7 trillion budget he sent to Congress this week will cut the federal deficit in half by 2009. (24) And he warned them against moves by some congressional Democrats to allow parts of his record tax cuts to expire, as the president says that would hurt the economy.