President George W. Bush signed a law designed to bolster security at US ports and prevent terrorists from smuggling in nuclear weapons. The law also included an unrelated provision inserted by lawmakers in Congress to severely restrict Internet gambling, prompting gaming companies abroad to close down their US operations.
Hoping to retain control of Congress in legislative elections on November 7, lawmakers in Bush's Republican party adopted the measure two weeks ago to persuade voters that they are better able to prevent another terrorist attack.
The Republicans rode the security issue to electoral victory in 2002 and 2004. But the same strategy may falter this year amid growing public anxiety about the war in Iraq and the economy.
Bush, who has portrayed the opposition Democrats as failing to grasp the nature of the terrorist threat after the attacks of September 11, 2001, used the signing ceremony as an opportunity to hammer home his campaign message on security.
"We're going to protect our ports. We're going to defend this homeland, and we're going to win this war on terror," said Bush, surrounded by Republican lawmakers.
Entitled the "Security and Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006," the law provides 3.4 billion dollars over five years to strengthen security at ports and requires radiation detection technology to be installed in 22 of the country's largest ports by the end of 2007.
The measure calls for bolstering inspections on some 11 million containers that transit American ports every year, deploying inspectors to foreign ports to check cargo headed to US ports, and speeding up paperwork from private shipowners.
The opposition Democrats mostly supported the law, but said the Bush administration has neglected other vulnerable sectors such as rail and mass transit.
Congress took the gaming industry by surprise in approving restrictions on online gambling. The law prohibits US banks and credit card companies from processing online bets.
Republicans backing the provision said it was designed to protect youngsters from the financial and moral damage of online gambling, but opponents said it could prove extremely difficult to enforce.
Critics also said that gambling businesses that cater to horse-racing and state lotteries, which enjoy powerful political patronage, were exempted from the law.
