Bush 'troubled' by US GDP contraction in Q3 - spokesman

President George W Bush "is troubled" by data showing that US GDP took its sharpest dive in a decade in the third quarter, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

"Given this latest report, it would be unimaginable that the Senate would leave town without completing its work on the stimulus" package, Fleischer told reporters.

The spokesman said the administration will work with lawmakers to speed passage of an economic stimulus legislation that has stalled over a dispute between the White House and opposition Democrats, who control the Senate.

Fleischer's comments came after the release of revised government figures showing that the US economy contracted at a 1.1% annual rate in the third quarter.