Controversially Executing the Law: George W. Bush and the Constitutional Signing Statement

Abstract

During his two terms in office, President George W. Bush dramatically increased the use of the signing statement to make constitutional objections to more than 1,000 provisions passed by Congress and enacted into law. These presidential protests are frequently targeted at legislative veto provisions, which Congress continues to utilize as an oversight resource, despite the landmark ruling in INS v. Chadha, which declared the legislative veto unconstitutional. By accounting for the number of legislative veto provisions included in legislation, this paper considers the substance of legislation as an important factor in eliciting presidential signing statements. Using an original data set that catalogues the number of legislative vetoes passed by Congress from 1973 to 2006, this analysis suggests that the increased use of the signing statement in recent decades is attributable in part to the congressional practice of including greater numbers of legislative veto provisions in legislation. Results from this research make it clear that one of the lasting legacies of the Bush presidency is the expansion of the signing statement as a vehicle of presidential power seeking to affect the execution of the law.