At a campaign stop in Grand Junction, Colorado in May 2008, Barack Obama said that the Bush signing statements changed "what Congress passed by attaching a letter saying 'I don't agree with this part' or 'I don't agree with that part.'" Obama added, "Congress's job is to pass legislation. The president can veto it or he can sign it."
Contrary to what candidate Barack Obama said at a campaign stop, President Obama has used signing statements that alter congressional intent, 20 times since taking office. His latest signing statement came a few days ago with his disagreement with three sections of the National Defense Authorization Act, which Obama said interfered with his constitutional powers to conduct the nation's foreign policy. The three offending sections were: 1) restrictions on data exchange with Russia; 2) new authorities to detain suspected Al Qaeda members; and 3) sanctions against the central bank of Iran.
Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) has contended he was assured by top national security advisers that some date, such as telemetry or hit-to-kill technology would not go to Russia. He accused any lawyer writing the signing statement language of speaking with a "forked tongue." Kirk also fears that any technology we share with Russia will make its way to Iran.
Several prominent organizations weighed in with condemnation of Obama's signing statement. The American Bar Association said that if the president is not going to abide by a part of any given legislation, he must veto it. Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said that Obama will " forever be known as the president who signed indefinite detention without charge or trial into law." the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has generally supported President Obama, contended that it is unconstitutional for the military "to become a police force... ."
President Obama had come under fire from senior Democratic legislative leaders in June 2009, when he declared he had the right to ignore legislation on constitutional grounds. Obama had attached signing statements to a $410 billion omnibus spending bill and a $106 billion bill putting conditions on aid to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The four Democrats, David Obey, Barney Frank, Nita Lowey and Gregory Meeks, signed a letter saying that the president can't "pick and choose" which aspects of congressional statutes he was required to enforce. They related his actions to those of George W. Bush.
President Barack Obama's positions during the journey of the National Defense Authorization Act from committee hearings to bill signing were confusing to follow and even perverse in nature. When opposition arose in the Senate Armed Services Committee to the indefinite detention provisions of the bill, chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) said that Obama insisted that the language remain in the bill: however, when the bill went to the Senate floor, Obama said he would veto it unless the indefinite detention provisions were changed to his satisfaction. According to Levin, the bill on the floor had the language that Obama had insisted on when the bill was in committee. Attempts on the Senate floor to either delete the broad indefinite detention language or make it crystal clear that U.S. citizens would not be subject to its provisions were defeated on the Senate floor. Subsequently, Obama withdrew his threat to veto the bill but stated in the signing statement that enforcing the indefinite detention provisions would interfere with his constitutional foreign policy powers.
Embrace of George W. Bush's signing statements join the lengthening list of campaign promises that President Barack Obama has broken.
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