ARTS & FARCES internet

Both houses of the US Congress agreed on a US$34.8 billion homeland security measure that includes a complete overhaul of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as a response to the agency’s mismanagement of the aftermath of the Katrina catastrophe. President Bush signed the bill and then issued a signing statement that sets aside key provisions of the overhaul, including the requirement that the head of FEMA have at least five years of experience in handling disasters.

At the same time, Bush also “claimed the right to edit or withhold reports to Congress by a watchdog agency within the Department of Homeland Security that is responsible for protecting Americans’ personal privacy,” according to Spencer Hsu’s reporting in the Washington Post. The agency in question—the Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office—is a unit that monitors the agency’s use of US citizens’ personally identifiable information in “background checks, employment screening, and air travel, among other things,” according to Hsu’s article. Privacy advocates worry about the repercussions of such actions; the Department of Homeland Security is quickly becoming the hub integrating government databases containing personal information on US citizens.

Congressional members have criticized Bush for the extent of his use of signing statements instead of formal vetoes to subvert actions of the legislative branch. Vetoes are subject to Congressional overturn; signing statements aren’t.

In all, Bush’s signing statement sets aside more than three dozen laws specified in the homeland security bill, including a provision allowing the FEMA director to report emergency management needs directly to Congress, without White House permission.

Using signing statements, Bush has subverted more than 800 laws since he took office and he’s repeatedly used signing statements to counteract the intent of Congress and to expand the power of the executive branch. In December 2005, Bush used a signing statement to bypass a statutory ban on torture. In March 2006, he overruled provisions of the Patriot Act reauthorization bill.