Bush vows measures to protect mass transit

BALTIMORE -- President Bush pledged yesterday to boost protection of US transit systems against an attack in the aftermath of the London bombings, and urged Congress to renew the provisions of a piece of legislation enacted after Sept. 11 to strengthen the investigative and surveillance powers of law enforcement.

At least 56 people were killed in the bombings of three subway trains and a bus during the morning rush hour in London on July 7.

''It should be a vivid reminder about the world in which we live; we will not let down our guard," Bush said during a visit to the Port of Baltimore.

Bush made his comments as the United States warned Americans in Saudi Arabia to keep a low profile because militants are thought to be planning new attacks.

''The best way to protect the homeland is to go on the offense, is to find these people in foreign lands and bring them to justice before they come here to hurt us," Bush said. ''We're on the hunt and we will stay on the hunt."

About a dozen provisions in the USA Patriot Act, enacted in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are set to expire at the end of this year unless renewed by Congress.

Critics say some provisions infringe on civil liberties and should not be renewed. But Bush repeated his call to renew them, saying they strengthen the efforts to fight terrorism. ''The Patriot Act closed dangerous gaps in America's law enforcement and intelligence capabilities, gaps the terrorists exploited when they attacked us on September the 11th," he said.

During the port visit, Bush was given a demonstration of new technology to inspect cargo, including radiation detectors and X-ray devices equipment that can penetrate steel containers.

Although Bush touted $700 million in federal grants that he said has gone toward protecting ports, Democrats accused him of using the Baltimore port as a backdrop for a ''photo opportunity" while shortchanging the area in the homeland security budget.

''The administration has been asleep at the switch while shipload after shipload of cargo goes uninspected," Senator John F. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said.

Kerry, who ran against Bush in 2004, said that according to a report by the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General, only a fraction of the grants for port security has been spent, and a lot of the spending has been ''mismanaged."

Bush said his budget for next year proposes a 64 percent increase in infrastructure protection grants ''to safeguard, subways, light rail, city buses, and other critical systems."

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff stirred outrage recently by saying localities must bear the brunt of protecting their own mass transit systems.