[Peace-discuss] Truly scary stuff: Are we all helpless before King George?

[C. G. Estabrook]

On Sun, 8 Jan 2006 21:44:22, Morton K. Brussel wrote--
>   This may be the "signing" Carl mentioned this evening... 

[In fact, this is it below.  The McCain anti-torture amendment
is referred to her as "Title X in Division A of the Act," in
the ninth paragraph. I'll post separately a good brief summary
of this outrageous document.  It is by itself grounds for
impeachment, because it says that the president refuses to 
fulfill his constitutional responsibility to "take Care that
the Laws be faithfully executed." --CGE]


The White House, President George W. Bush 	
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 30, 2005

President's Statement on Signing of H.R. 2863, the "Department
of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address
Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act,
2006"

Today, I have signed into law H.R. 2863, the "Department of
Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address
Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act,
2006." The Act provides resources needed to fight the war on
terror, help citizens of the Gulf States recover from
devastating hurricanes, and protect Americans from a potential
influenza pandemic.

Sections 8007, 8011, and 8093 of the Act prohibit the use of
funds to initiate a special access program, a new overseas
installation, or a new start program, unless the congressional
defense committees receive advance notice. The Supreme Court
of the United States has stated that the President's authority
to classify and control access to information bearing on the
national security flows from the Constitution and does not
depend upon a legislative grant of authority. Although the
advance notice contemplated by sections 8007, 8011, and 8093
can be provided in most situations as a matter of comity,
situations may arise, especially in wartime, in which the
President must act promptly under his constitutional grants of
executive power and authority as Commander in Chief of the
Armed Forces while protecting certain extraordinarily
sensitive national security information. The executive branch
shall construe these sections in a manner consistent with the
constitutional authority of the President.

Section 8059 of the Act provides that, notwithstanding any
other provision of law, no funds available to the Department
of Defense for fiscal year 2006 may be used to transfer
defense articles or services, other than intelligence
services, to another nation or an international organization
for international peacekeeping, peace enforcement, or
humanitarian assistance operations, until 15 days after the
executive branch notifies six committees of the Congress of
the planned transfer. To the extent that protection of the
U.S. Armed Forces deployed for international peacekeeping,
peace enforcement, or humanitarian assistance operations might
require action of a kind covered by section 8059 sooner than
15 days after notification, the executive branch shall
construe the section in a manner consistent with the
President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief.

A proviso in the Act's appropriation for "Operation and
Maintenance, Defense-Wide" purports to prohibit planning for
consolidation of certain offices within the Department of
Defense. Also, sections 8010(b), 8032, 8037(b), and 8100
purport to specify the content of portions of future budget
requests to the Congress. The executive branch shall construe
these provisions relating to planning and making of budget
recommendations in a manner consistent with the President's
constitutional authority to require the opinions of the heads
of departments, to supervise the unitary executive branch, and
to recommend for congressional consideration such measures as
the President shall judge necessary and expedient.

Section 8005 of the Act, relating to requests to congressional
committees for reprogramming of funds, shall be construed as
calling solely for notification, as any other construction
would be inconsistent with the constitutional principles
enunciated by the Supreme Court of the United States in INS v.
Chadha.

The executive branch shall construe section 8104, relating to
integration of foreign intelligence information, in a manner
consistent with the President's constitutional authority as
Commander in Chief, including for the conduct of intelligence
operations, and to supervise the unitary executive branch.
Also, the executive branch shall construe sections 8106 and
8119 of the Act, which purport to prohibit the President from
altering command and control relationships within the Armed
Forces, as advisory, as any other construction would be
inconsistent with the constitutional grant to the President of
the authority of Commander in Chief.

The executive branch shall construe provisions of the Act
relating to race, ethnicity, gender, and State residency, such
as sections 8014, 8020 and 8057, in a manner consistent with
the requirement to afford equal protection of the laws under
the Due Process Clause of the Constitution's Fifth Amendment.

The executive branch shall construe Title X in Division A of
the Act, relating to detainees, in a manner consistent with
the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the
unitary executive branch and as Commander in Chief and
consistent with the constitutional limitations on the judicial
power, which will assist in achieving the shared objective of
the Congress and the President, evidenced in Title X, of
protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks.
Further, in light of the principles enunciated by the Supreme
Court of the United States in 2001 in Alexander v. Sandoval,
and noting that the text and structure of Title X do not
create a private right of action to enforce Title X, the
executive branch shall construe Title X not to create a
private right of action. Finally, given the decision of the
Congress reflected in subsections 1005(e) and 1005(h) that the
amendments made to section 2241 of title 28, United States
Code, shall apply to past, present, and future actions,
including applications for writs of habeas corpus, described
in that section, and noting that section 1005 does not confer
any constitutional right upon an alien detained abroad as an
enemy combatant, the executive branch shall construe section
1005 to preclude the Federal courts from exercising subject
matter jurisdiction over any existing or future action,
including applications for writs of habeas corpus, described
in section 1005.

Language in Division B of the Act, under the heading "Office
of Justice Programs, State and Local Law Enforcement
Assistance," purports to require the Attorney General to
consult congressional committees prior to allocating
appropriations for expenditure to execute the law. Because the
President's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary
executive branch and take care that the laws be faithfully
executed cannot be made by law subject to a requirement to
consult with congressional committees or to involve them in
executive decision-making, the executive branch shall construe
the provision to require only notification. At the same time,
the Attorney General shall, as a matter of comity between the
executive and legislative branches, seek and consider the
views of appropriate committees in this matter as the Attorney
General deems appropriate.

Certain provisions in the Act purport to allocate funds for
specified purposes as set forth in the joint explanatory
statement of managers that accompanied the Act or other Acts;
to make changes in statements of managers that accompanied
various appropriations bills reported from conferences in the
past; or to direct compliance with a committee report. Such
provisions include section 8044 in Division A, and sections
5022, 5023, and 5024 and language under the heading "Natural
Resources Conservation Service, Conservation Operations" in
Division B, of the Act. Other provisions of the Act, such as
sections 8073 and 8082 in Division A, purport to give binding
effect to legislative documents not presented to the
President. The executive branch shall construe all these
provisions in a manner consistent with the bicameral passage
and presentment requirements of the Constitution for the
making of a law.

  GEORGE W. BUSH
  THE WHITE HOUSE,
  December 30, 2005.

  # # #
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