By Ron Fournier
AP White House Correspondent
Saturday, June 29, 2001; 10:48 a.m.

President Bush transferred the powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney for more than two hours Saturday while under sedation for a colon screening.

The test revealed no polyps or other abnormalities, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Bush transferred the powers of the presidency at 7:09 a.m. EDT, Fleischer said. Anesthesia was administered and the procedure was completed at 7:29 a.m.

Fleischer said "the president awoke" at 7:31 a.m. At 9:24 a.m., he resumed powers.

Bush transferred and return his powers in letters to House and Senate leaders. Bush, who turns 56 next week, said Friday that doctors recommended the colonoscopy because benign polyps were found in two previous checks. It is considered a standard preventive procedure for people his age.

A colonoscopy is considered the best way to examine the colon and to find and remove polyps before they become cancerous. Colon cancer kills more than 50,000 Americans annually and is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, behind lung cancer.

The procedure, performed regularly, is thought to reduce the risk of colon cancer by up to 90 percent. More than 2 million are performed annually in this country.

The procedure uses a flexible tube containing an optical scope equipped with a surgical cutter that enables the doctor to view the entire length of the colon and remove any polyps discovered.

Generally, physicians recommend that people after the age of 50 receive a colonoscopy every three to five years, depending on the patient's personal and family history of colon cancer. For some patients, the procedure is done annually.

Tubb said Friday that Bush had the same procedure in July 1998 and December 1999 — while governor of Texas — and both times two polyps were found.

"This is preventive medicine at its finest," the doctor said. "If you're over 50 you ought to make it part of your practice as well."

Al Gonzales, the White House counsel, said Section 3 of the 25th Amendment — enacted in 1967, four years after President Kennedy's assassination — was invoked one other time: when President Reagan underwent surgery for colon cancer July 13, 1985.

Bush disclosed plans for the examination in good spirits Friday, joking with reporters about the uncomfortable procedure and ending the exchange, "I'm glad to be able to share that with you."

He said there were "no signs, no symptoms" of trouble and he expected to exercise soon after the exam.

Tubb, an Air Force colonel, said a sedative called propofol would be administered to Bush through an intravenous line. It takes effect in a minute or less and wears off quickly.

Tubb was being joined by a military medical team led by endoscopist James Butler, a Navy captain and chief of gastroenterology at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.