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Abstract:
In 2006, the Bush administration received a great deal of attention and criticism for its refusal to execute or administer provisions of law that it deemed constitutionally problematic. The administration placed its refusal - over 1100 specific refusals - in a bill signing statement. While the administration was not the first to use the bill signing statement in this way, it is the first to use it as often as it did. Critics used this fact to highlight a presidency that had become abusive of the constitutional system of checks and balances. The purpose of this article is to explain what the signing statement is, how it has been used by the current Bush administration, and to assess who is responsible for the imbalance in the system of checks and balances - the President or the Congress?

Bush administration, signing statement, checks and balances, separation of power

Abstract:
In 1986, Attorney General Edwin Meese announced to a gathering at the National Press Club that a deal with the West Publishing Company to have the signing statement published in the United States Code, Congressional and Administrative News. The announcement mostly went unnoticed until November 1986, when the administration used the signing statement to change an important part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. Following that event, a flurry of articles appeared in law journals assessing whether the signing statement was constitutionally permissible and whether it would influence judicial decisionmaking. Little attention was paid then, as now, regarding what influenced the unusual move in the first place.

In this paper, using information gleaned from interviews with Reagan Justice Department officials as well as documents released December 2005 in preparation for the Alito confirmation hearings, I discuss what external circumstances likely influenced the decision and I dispel the argument that the primary motivation was to influence judges. Instead, the signing statement was designed first to influence executive branch agents.

Signing Statement, Reagan administration, Legislative History

Abstract:
The presidential signing statement became a public spectacle in 2006 after a news account claimed President George W. Bush used the signing statement to challenge the constitutionality of over 750 provisions of various bills he signed into law. Despite the coverage generated over Bush's use of the signing statement, most Americans still remain woefully uniformed of its history or purpose. The point of this article is to discuss what the signing statement is, its history, and ways in which the Congress may curb its use.

Signing statement, Separation of Powers

Abstract:
President George W. Bush pushed the envelope on presidential power while defending many controversial actions in the name of the unitary executive theory of presidential power. This left many in the public, including those in Congress, with the mistaken belief that 1) the theory originated there and 2) that its behavior is actually condoned by the theory itself. This paper seeks to dispel that opinion in the following ways: First, I will examine the theory’s core values, where it originated, and how it evolved to negate the opinion that it is a 21st century phenomena; Second, I will compare that actions of the Bush administration, particularly in its use of the presidential signing statement, to determine whether their was congruence or conflict; and third, I will look at whether the theory had been so damaged that it did not make it out of the Bush administration by examining, briefly, the actions of the Obama administration, and in particular how it has used the signing statement. I make the following conclusions: First, the Bush administration’s behavior violated the tenets of the unitary executive theory and his actions were admonished by many of its adherents, and second, so far the Obama administration has behaved consistent with the values of the theory, which was embraced by Presidents Reagan, Bush I, and Clinton, though there are some troubling signs in its use of the signing statement.

Abstract:
Much has been written about the unitary executive theory and presidential power and its connection to Republican presidents, in particular the George W. Bush administration. What has not gotten a lot of attention is how the theory was extended by and through the Clinton administration.

While Clinton promised a break from the way his Republican predecessors governed, once in office he grabbed a hold of the powers provided by the unitary executive and implemented them through a series of executive orders and OLC opinions.

Unitary Executive, Presidential Power, Signing Statements, Executive Orders