Washington ? President Bush, hoping to avoid political fallout over a string of corporate scandals, pledged Friday that his Justice Department will “hold people accountable” for mismanaging their companies through deceit and corruption.

“Corporate America has got to understand there is a higher calling than trying to fudge the numbers, trying to slip a billion here and a billion here and … hope nobody notices,” said Bush as he headlined a $500,000 fund-raiser for Rep. Connie Morella, R-Md.

It marked the third day in row Bush has pledged to crack down on corporate irresponsibility, a reflection of internal Republican polling that shows he and his party are vulnerable on the topic.

WorldCom Inc. said this week it hid $3.8 billion in expenses. The disclosure, which has propelled the former telecom giant toward bankruptcy, follows the collapse of Enron, an energy giant that was run by a longtime Bush associate, and other corporate failures.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said the string of disclosures “threatens our economy to the core” and accused the White House of not backing adequate reforms.

He mentioned Halliburton Co., which is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for its accounting practices in 1998, while Vice President Dick Cheney was its chief executive.

“It’s time to abandon this laissez-faire attitude and take action,” Daschle said in a written statement.

Bush will dedicate his weekly radio address today to the topic of corporate irresponsibility. Democrats, sensing a weakness in Bush’s otherwise high approval ratings, plan to discuss the same issue in their address.

The president also plans on July 9 to go to Wall Street to deliver a speech on accountability.

“You have a responsibility to this country to always be above-board,” Bush said in a message at the fund-raiser. He promised to enforce laws against corporate wrongdoing.