Obama orders review of Bush's signing statements

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Obama orders review of Bush's signing statements

By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer

Mar 9, 7:02 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Monday ordered a review of George W. Bush's guidelines for implementing legislation passed by Congress, at the same time saying that he would employ his own version of how he wants the government to follow the law.

In a memo to senior government officials, Obama said they must check with Attorney General Eric Holder before relying on any of Bush's signing statements for guidance. Bush often issued a statement when signing a bill into law, and critics said the statements at times showed government officials how to circumvent the law if Bush disagreed with it on constitutional grounds.

"There is no doubt that the practice of issuing such statements can be abused," Obama wrote. "Constitutional signing statements should not be used to suggest that the president will disregard statutory requirements on the basis of policy disagreements."

Obama ordered his administration to work with Congress to let lawmakers know about concerns over legality before legislation gets to the White House for the president's signature. He also pledged that he would use caution and restraint in writing his own signing statements.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_SIGNING_STATEMENTS?SITE=TNATH&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-03-09-19-02-50

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