WASHINGTON (CNN) - The nation needs the House of Representatives' $550 billion tax-cut bill in order to create more than one million jobs, President Bush said Saturday, urging Americans to contact their elected representatives in support of the plan.

"The unemployment rate last month reached six percent as many employers continue to hold back on the kinds of investments that lead to new jobs," he said in his weekly radio address. "This tax relief would give employers greater incentives and resources to invest in new equipment. The result will be more jobs, and that is our goal."

The Bush plan will also "leave more money in the hands of families who need it to make purchases and to pay the bills," the president said.

Bush hailed the bill passed Friday by the Republican-controlled House as a "positive step" that included all the elements of the tax-cut bill he submitted.

Democrats have dismissed the bill as a measure that would disproportionately favor the wealthy at the expense of critical social service programs and the nation's fiscal health.

In the Democrats' response, New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey called for federal aid to cash-strapped states Saturday and denounced the Bush administration for leaving them out of its economic plan.

With state governments facing their worst economic crisis since World War II, state tax increases and service cuts were inevitable without federal help, McGreevey said.

Forty-six states faced budget deficits totaling $70 billion, McGreevey said. "Yet the stimulus package offered by the president fails to provide a single dollar in aid to the states," he said of Bush's tax cut plan.

Democrats have also challenged Bush's assumption that the cuts are the best way to create jobs, pointing out that the unemployment rate has risen steadily since 2001, when Bush's first tax cut -- $1.35 trillion over 10 years -- was passed.

The House's version does not go as far as Bush wanted -- notably it does not eliminate federal taxes on dividends -- but it is less offensive to the president than a Senate version likely to be passed next week.

The centerpiece of the 10-year, $550 billion House bill is a cut in taxes on stock dividends and capital gains. Both would be lowered to 15 percent for most taxpayers and to five percent for lower-income filers. It also raises the child tax credit, eliminates the so-called "marriage penalty" and lowers income taxes. Businesses would get tax breaks for buying new equipment.

The Senate's $350 billion tax-cut bill includes raising taxes in other areas in order to pay for the Bush-inspired cuts.

McGreevey underscored the Democrats' hopes for a measure more like the Senate package. "Fortunately, the stimulus bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee recognizes the states as economic partners," he added, referring to the bill approved by the committee Thursday that contains $20 billion in aid to states.

Bush called on the Senate to complete its work quickly so that the Congressional chambers can reconcile the two bills. He clearly favored the House's larger bill.

"We need at least $550 billion in tax relief over the next decade, big enough to make a real difference in the paychecks of American workers, big enough to help entrepreneurs create more jobs, and big enough to give our economy the boost it needs," he said.

Bush plans to travel to New Mexico, Indiana and Nebraska next week to push his position.  

-- Reuters contributed to this story