Signing Statements

Remember those pesky "signing statements" where Bush (while Bush has made it an art, other Presidents have also used them) amend a bill they've just signed with a statement of the President's disagreement? Many argued that these are non-binding and don't carry the force of law. I wonder:

Federal agencies ignored 30 percent of the laws Bush objected to in signing statements last year, according to a report released today by the Government Accountability Office. In 2006, President Bush issued signing statements for 11 out of the 12 appropriations bills passed by Congress, claiming a right to bypass a total of 160 provisions in them.

In a sample set of 19 provisions, the GAO found that “10 provisions were executed as written, 6 were not, and 3 were not triggered and so there was no agency action to examine.”

The report, which was requested by House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Byrd (D-WV), gives the first indication of the impact that President Bush’s signing statements have had on the enforcement of laws passed by Congress.

Now someone needs to check if government agencies have responded similarly to other Presidents who have had signing statement inserted. Either way, it would seem to be completely unconstitutional and these statements need to be challenged in court.