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Washington - President Barack Obama directed his administration Monday to handle with caution controversial 'signing statements' attached to legislation by his predecessor, George W. Bush. The previous president frequently attached such statements to bills passed by Congress, signaling his intention to ignore certain provisions or instructing his administration how to implement the statute.
"There is no doubt that the practice of issuing such statements can be abused," Obama said in a memorandum to cabinet secretaries and agency chiefs. The document told government officers to check with Attorney General Eric
Holder before 'disregarding, or otherwise refusing to comply with, any provision of a statute' on the basis of Bush's signing statements. Democratic critics said the unprecedented number of signing statements were a power grab by Bush to subvert the authority of Congress, especially over legislation connected to his 'war on terror.'
Obama said that in contrast, he would only issue statements to point out potential constitutional problems in provisions agreed by Congress where he feels he cannot veto the entire bill.
"Constitutional signing statements should not be used to suggest that the president will disregard statutory requirements on the basis of policy disagreements," the memorandum said.
"At the same time, such signing statements serve a legitimate function in our system, at least when based on well-founded constitutional objections." According to a count by Christopher Kelley, a political scientist at Miami University in Ohio, Bush issued statements to challenge nearly 1,200 bill provisions -roughly double the combined number of all his predecessors
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