When President Bush reversed course last year and accepted Sen. John McCain’s call for a law banning cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of foreign war suspects, many Americans – we among them – applauded.
But what wasn’t well known at the time is that when Bush signed it into law, he had no intention of adhering to it.
The president issued what’s called a “signing statement,” a document that seems to give him the authority to ignore the new law. Invoking the name of homeland security and Sept. 11, President Bush has issued hundreds of signing statements, more than any other president before him.
Signing statements have a distinct purpose, and every president since Dwight Eisenhower has used them, but they shouldn’t be abused to expand presidential powers. The people have a right to expect that when Congress passes a law, and the president signs it, the law will be enforced.
It’s unnerving that Bush, who has never (not once) wielded his veto pen, can pick and choose the provisions of laws he intends to flout. His use of signing statements looks like a usurpation of power.
If Bush were to actually veto a law, Congress could override him with a two-thirds vote. Instead, he issues a signing statement, which describes his interpretation of the law. For the torture ban, Bush said he would view the new interrogation limits in the context of his broader powers to protect national security.
Bush has issued signing statements on 110 laws – more than Bill Clinton (80) and Ronald Reagan (105) but less than his father, George H.W. Bush (147), according to the Justice Department. However, Bush has issued multiple statements on many of those laws for a whopping total of 750 – more than all previous presidents combined.
“He’s crossing his fingers behind his back,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held a hearing last month on Bush’s use of the documents.
The Bush administration, home of the warrantless domestic wiretapping program, has given us plenty of reasons to suspect that the president’s use of signing statements is simply a bid to expand executive power, which needs to be curtailed.
