Charlie Savage: Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on Presidential Signing Statements

Bush challenges hundreds of laws

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/04/30/bush_challenges_hundreds_of_laws/

President cites powers of his office

By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | April 30, 2006

WASHINGTON --

President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took
office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts
with his interpretation of the Constitution.


Bush’s contention that he can ignore provisions of the Patriot Act,
whose renewal he ushered last month, has drawn scrutiny. (Jim Young/ Reuters)

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.

Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush's assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government. The Constitution is clear in assigning to Congress the power to write the laws and to the president a duty ''to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Bush, however, has repeatedly declared that he does not need to ''execute" a law he believes is unconstitutional.

Former administration officials contend that just because Bush reserves the right to disobey a law does not mean he is not enforcing it: In many cases, he is simply asserting his belief that a certain requirement encroaches on presidential power.

But with the disclosure of Bush's domestic spying program, in which he ignored a law requiring warrants to tap the phones of Americans, many legal specialists say Bush is hardly reluctant to bypass laws he believes he has the constitutional authority to override.

Examples of the president's signing statements
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/04/30/examples_of_the_presidents_signing_statements/

Pop-up GLOBE GRAPHIC: Number of new statutes challenged
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/04/30/statutes_challenged

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