The House Judiciary Committee held its first hearing to examine Bush’s use of signing statements, according to the ACLU, which he has used to affect over 750 laws. Often, their use is to claim a right not to enforce them. Caroline Fredrickson of the ACLU said “When Congress sends a law to the president for signature it is not asking for his comments.” The Executive Branch is supposed to execute the laws, not pick some parts to execute and some parts to disregard.
In many cases, the signing statements have said that he will not follow parts of a law because it conflicts with his “executive authority.”
Technorati Tags: Politics, Current Events, Bush, Current Affairs, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Executive Power, Signing Statements, Separation of Powers, House Judiciary Committee
