In a bill signing statement similar to the one in which he asserted the right to ignore the McCain anti-torture amendment, George Bush has notified Congress that he isn’t bound by provisions for Congressional oversight of FBI powers granted under the recently revised Patriot Act.
Only one member of Congress, Democratic senator Pat Leahy of Vermont, took official notice of the signing statement. According to the Boston Globe, Leahy “inserted a statement into the record of the Senate Judiciary Committee objecting to Bush’s interpretation of the Patriot Act, but neither the signing statement nor Leahy’s objection received coverage from in the mainstream news media.”
Here’s a suggestion for the senator: next time you notice the president making an end run around the Constitution, send your press release out to bloggers. We actually pay attention to that stuff, and we’ll get it into the papers for you.
The portions of the Patriot Act Bush reserves the right to ignore require the attorney general to tell Congress how and how often the FBI is using Patriot Act provisions authorizing searches and seizures using secret search warrants. His signing statement includes what under his administration has become a standard dismissal of Congressional authority to oversee executive branch activities, primarily but not exclusively in the realm of national security.
A constitutional expert quoted by the paper neatly summarized the White House attitude toward Congress: “[The administration] deny that Congress even has the authority to pass laws on these subjects like torture and eavesdropping, and in addition to that, they say that Congress is not even entitled to get information about anything to do with the war on terrorism.”
If the Republican response to the president’s warrantless wiretapping program is any guide, we may soon see legislation in which Congress strips itself of oversight authority so that the president can remain within the law as he continues to ignore whatever authority Congress asserts.
Bush voids oversight provisions in Patriot Act
In a bill signing statement similar to the one in which he asserted the right to ignore the McCain anti-torture amendment, George Bush has notified Congress that he isn’t bound by provisions for Congressional oversight of FBI powers granted under the recently revised Patriot Act.
Only one member of Congress, Democratic senator Pat Leahy of Vermont, took official notice of the signing statement. According to the Boston Globe, Leahy “inserted a statement into the record of the Senate Judiciary Committee objecting to Bush’s interpretation of the Patriot Act, but neither the signing statement nor Leahy’s objection received coverage from in the mainstream news media.”
Here’s a suggestion for the senator: next time you notice the president making an end run around the Constitution, send your press release out to bloggers. We actually pay attention to that stuff, and we’ll get it into the papers for you.
The portions of the Patriot Act Bush reserves the right to ignore require the attorney general to tell Congress how and how often the FBI is using Patriot Act provisions authorizing searches and seizures using secret search warrants. His signing statement includes what under his administration has become a standard dismissal of Congressional authority to oversee executive branch activities, primarily but not exclusively in the realm of national security.
A constitutional expert quoted by the paper neatly summarized the White House attitude toward Congress: “[The administration] deny that Congress even has the authority to pass laws on these subjects like torture and eavesdropping, and in addition to that, they say that Congress is not even entitled to get information about anything to do with the war on terrorism.”
If the Republican response to the president’s warrantless wiretapping program is any guide, we may soon see legislation in which Congress strips itself of oversight authority so that the president can remain within the law as he continues to ignore whatever authority Congress asserts.