Statement on Signing the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011
Issued 2011-04-15 by Barack Obama
Plain-English Overview
AI-generated summary explaining what this action does, who it affects, and why it matters
President Obama signed a government funding bill in April 2011 that included two provisions restricting how the administration could handle detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Section 1112 of the law prevented the use of funds for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year to transfer Guantanamo detainees into the United States. Section 1113 restricted the use of funds to transfer detainees to foreign countries unless certain conditions were met. The law also included a section that would have prohibited funding for several positions that provide advice directly to the President.
These restrictions affect the executive branch's ability to decide where and when to prosecute Guantanamo detainees and to conduct negotiations with foreign countries about transferring detainees. The President stated that prosecuting terrorists in federal court is an important counterterrorism tool and that requiring additional certifications for transferring detainees to other countries would hinder delicate negotiations with foreign governments. The restrictions also affect the President's ability to receive advice from certain advisers.
Despite objecting to these provisions, the President signed the bill to avoid a lapse in government funding, including military activities. In the signing statement, he announced his administration would work with Congress to seek repeal of these restrictions and would oppose efforts to extend or expand them. He also indicated the executive branch would interpret the adviser-funding provision in a way that preserves the President's ability to obtain advice and exercise supervisory authority.
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Constitutional Analysis
How this action fits (or doesn't) within Article II authority and existing law
This signing statement ("Statement on Signing the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011") was issued alongside a bill the President signed into law. The President's stated concerns: "the Nation and must be among the options available to us." Signing statements allow presidents to express constitutional or policy objections to specific provisions of legislation they have just signed. Their legal weight and constitutional propriety have been contested since the practice became common in the 1980s.
Critics — including the American Bar Association — argue that using signing statements to announce an intent to not enforce portions of a law effectively creates a line-item veto, which the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in Clinton v. City of New York (1998). Defenders argue presidents have a duty to identify constitutional concerns and that signing statements are a legitimate form of executive interpretation. The constitutional propriety depends on whether this specific statement announces non-enforcement or merely records the President's views.
Official Summary
Administration of Barack Obama, 2011 Statement on Signing the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 April 15, 2011 Today I have signed into law H.R. 1473, the "Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011". Section 1112 of the Act bars the use of funds for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 to transfer Guantanamo detainees into the United States, and section 1113 bars the use of funds for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 to transfer detainees to the custody or effective control of foreign countries unless specified conditions are met. Section 1112 represents the continuation of a dangerous and unprecedented challenge to critical executive branch authority to determine when and where to prosecute Guantanamo detainees, based on the facts and the circumstances of each case and our national security interests. The prosecution of terrorists in Federal court is a powerful tool in our efforts to protect the Nation and must be among the options available to us. Any attempt to deprive the executive branch of that tool undermines our Nation's counterterrorism efforts and has the potential to harm our natio