President Bush signed into law the controversial US-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act, passed by the lame-duck US Congress. Then he issued a signing statement in which he says that a provision of the law that India’s Congress Party-led government objected to will be treated as “advisory.” According to the Hindustan Times, Section 103
says the US should try to work with other Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) members to deny India enrichment, reprocessing and heavy-water technology. It has several provisions which New Delhi is not particularly happy about.
Bush’s statement says:
My approval of the act does not constitute my adoption of the statements of policy [of Section 103] as US foreign policy.
Of course, as I have noted before, the US President has no authority to set aside parts of a law that may have been (and this case almost certainly were) crucial to its being passed in the first place.
He seems to think he has the line-item veto.
Seed planted by Steven Taylor — 19 December 2006 @ 17:39
India nuclear deal and coalition tensions
The US-India nuclear cooperation deal, signed last year, is causing some serious tensions within India’s governing alliance, according to the Hindustan Times. The deal is being staunchly opposed by the Left alliance, on whom the minority cabinet of the United Progressive Alliance (Congress Party and numerous pre-electoral allies among state-specific parties) depends to remain in office.
Scion grafted by Fruits and Votes — 24 August 2007 @ 18:14
‘Allies may be dismayed to learn that President Obama can’t turn American foreign policy on a dime when he takes office in January, say executive-power scholars. Only a few components of U.S. policy flow from the Oval Office in the form of revocable “executive orders,” the commands that presidents sometimes revoke in the first few days. Obama is expected to reverse a few of these – such as the global gag rule, which keeps US money from family-planning groups that provide (or suggest) abortions. But, says Phillip J Cooper of Portland State University, President Bush made policy using instruments like classified “national security directives,” presidential memoranda and signing statements that aren’t all listed in the Federal Register, the daily journal of the US government rules and amendments. Digging up every message Bush sent to executive agencies – on subjects from Gitmo to development aid – could take months. Change, it turns out, takes time.’
- Adam B Kushner, “Executive Orders: The Limits On Change”, Newsweek (24 Nov 2008)
Seed planted by Tom Round — 16 November 2008 @ 15:31