Enlarge By Larry Downing, Reuters President Bush speaks during a news conference in the White House press room before departing for the start of his summer vacation Thursday.

"The way it seems to have worked is that each member on that (Transportation) committee gets to set his or her own priorities first," Bush said. "That's not the right way to prioritize the people's money. Before we raise taxes, which could affect economic growth, I would strongly urge the Congress to examine how they set priorities."

About $24 billion, or 8% of the last $286 billion highway bill, was devoted to highway and bridge projects singled out by lawmakers. The balance is sent in the form of grants to states, which then decide how it will be spent. Federal money accounts for about 45% of all infrastructure spending.

The Democratic chairman of the House Transportation Committee proposed a 5-cent increase in the 18.3 cents-a-gallon federal gasoline tax to establish a new trust fund for repairing or replacing structurally deficient highway bridges.

On terrorism, Bush said he is confident in the ability of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to crack down on militants at the Afghan border and cooperate with the U.S.

He said he expected Musharraf to take "swift action if there is actionable intelligence inside his country." Bush refused to address whether the U.S. troops would go into Pakistan without permission from leaders there.

"We spend a lot of time with the leadership in Pakistan talking about what we will do with actionable intelligence," Bush said. "Am I confident they (terrorists) will be brought to justice? My answer is, 'Yes I am.' "

Bush made his comments during a midmorning session with reporters. It was his first full news conference since July 12 when he inaugurated the newly refurbished White House briefing room. Since then, he has had brief question-and-answer sessions with Britain's new prime minister, Gordon Brown, and Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai.

With Congress already out of town, Bush was to leave Washington at midday for a three-night stay at his father's oceanfront compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. On Saturday, Bush will meet in Kennebunkport with France's new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who is vacationing at an estate on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, N.H., about 50 miles away.

The president is to return to the White House on Sunday and then head out the next day for his Texas ranch.

Bush is not expected to return to Washington until near the end of the month, although he is scheduled to make some outings from his ranch. He is to meet with the leaders of Mexico and Canada Aug. 20-21 in Ottawa.