Bush says "confident" economy will be stronger

STERLING, Virginia (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is going through a difficult period but will emerge stronger in the long run, President George W. Bush said on Wednesday after new data confirmed growth has slowed.

"(There's) a rough patch right now in our economy and I'm confident in the long term we'll come out stronger than ever before," Bush said after a visit to a business in northern Virginia to tout his economic stimulus package.

"It's going to take a while for the economy to feel the effects of this good law that I signed," he said of the measure, which provides stimulus checks to taxpayers and gives businesses accelerated depreciation on new equipment.

(Editing by Tom Hals)