ABA’s Signing Statements Report

A little behind on this. I erred in thinking last week's announcement was preliminary. The American Bar Association's Task Force on Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine released its Final Report with Recommendations on July 24. The report criticizes President Bush's use of presidential signing statements to avoid enforcing laws passed by Congress. One learned commentator sums up the Bush II use of signing statements as follows: "When in doubt challenge the legislative process whether there is a serious issue or not." He labels the Bush record on signing statements as "an audacious claim to constitutional authority; the scope of the claims and the sweeping formulae used to present them are little short of breathtaking." They are "dramatic declaratory judgments holding acts of Congress unconstitutional and purporting to interpret not only Article II Presidential powers but those of the legislators under Article I … ."via Tracy Van Slyke