From CQ Politics:
President Bush, in signing the defense policy bill Tuesday, issued a statement indicating he reserves the right to heed or disregard four of its provisions as he sees fit. So-called “signing statement” typically assert the limits of Congress’s power over the executive branch.
Every president since Ronald Reagan has repeatedly engaged in the practice, but none as frequently as Bush, who has objected to more than 1,000 provisions of laws he has enacted, according to a 2007 Congressional Research Service report.
The disputed parts of the $611 billion bill include:
- A ban on the use of U.S. funds authorized in the measure “to exercise control of the oil resources of Iraq.”
- A requirement that the U.S. government initiate negotiations with Baghdad on an agreement to share costs of combined military operations in the Iraq war zone.
- A provision providing certain personnel authorities to a Wartime Contracting Commission.
- A provision that would create in the Pentagon an office called the director of Operational Energy Plans and Programs.
Filed under: George W. Bush, Legislation, President, White House | Tagged: Iraq, Pentagon, Ronald Reagan, signing statement
