So is the stimulas passed both houses, and Obama will sign Mondday? n/t

[Amy6627]

[Patsy Stone]

1. No

We're waiting for Sherrod Brown to fly back from his mother's wake to vote yes because no other Republican would vote for it. Not kidding.

[marketcrazy1]

3. can the President

change or amend this bill when it reaches his desk through signing statements??

[Patsy Stone]

4. Can he? Probably.

Will he? No.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/CandidateQA/question4/

Question 4
Under what circumstances, if any, would you sign a bill into law but also issue a signing statement reserving a constitutional right to bypass the law?

Obama:
Signing statements have been used by presidents of both parties, dating back to Andrew Jackson. While it is legitimate for a president to issue a signing statement to clarify his understanding of ambiguous provisions of statutes and to explain his view of how he intends to faithfully execute the law, it is a clear abuse of power to use such statements as a license to evade laws that the president does not like or as an end-run around provisions designed to foster accountability.

I will not use signing statements to nullify or undermine congressional instructions as enacted into law. The problem with this administration is that it has attached signing statements to legislation in an effort to change the meaning of the legislation, to avoid enforcing certain provisions of the legislation that the President does not like, and to raise implausible or dubious constitutional objections to the legislation. The fact that President Bush has issued signing statements to challenge over 1100 laws – more than any president in history – is a clear abuse of this prerogative. No one doubts that it is appropriate to use signing statements to protect a president's constitutional prerogatives; unfortunately, the Bush Administration has gone much further than that.

[Avalux]

2. Monday is a holiday and the Obamas are in Chicago. He'll sign Tuesday.

Just as he said he would. What an accomplishment for Obama - three weeks into his administration. :toast:

Sherrod Brown needs to vote first; the Senate is in a holding pattern until he gets there this evening.