<p>President Bush yesterday scaled back his proposed tax cut by nearly 25 percent in an effort to prod Congress into passing the measure in time to stimulate the economy before next year's election.</p>
<p>After insisting for months that he would not budge from his 10-year cut of $726 billion, Mr. Bush yesterday endorsed a $550 billion compromise that was passed by the House. The Senate is pushing for an even smaller cut of $350 billion.</p>