Statement on Signing the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010
Issued 2010-10-15 by Barack Obama
Plain-English Overview
AI-generated summary explaining what this action does, who it affects, and why it matters
President Obama signed the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010, which strengthens the Coast Guard as a military service within the Department of Homeland Security. The law provides organizational flexibility for the Coast Guard, allows for improvements to military housing, and enhances the Coast Guard's marine safety and maritime security missions. It also includes language to implement an international treaty on controlling harmful anti-fouling systems on ships.
However, in signing the bill, the President issued a statement identifying constitutional concerns with certain provisions. He stated that Section 818 improperly gives the Comptroller General—a congressional officer—authority to bind the Secretary of Homeland Security in carrying out executive functions. Specifically, this section would require the Secretary to implement a process for delivering transportation security cards to applicants' homes if the Comptroller General determines it's feasible.
The President indicated that his administration would treat the Comptroller General's findings as advisory rather than binding, and would interpret other provisions to ensure they comply with the Constitution's requirements for how significant government authority must be exercised. The constitutional propriety of signing statements like this one has been debated, with some arguing they effectively allow presidents to selectively enforce laws while others maintain they are a legitimate way to identify constitutional concerns.
AI-generated summary for educational purposes
Constitutional Analysis
How this action fits (or doesn't) within Article II authority and existing law
This signing statement ("Statement on Signing the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010") was issued alongside a bill the President signed into law. 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 H. Obama, 2010 Statement on Signing the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 October 15, 2010 Today I have signed into law H.R. 3619, the "Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010." This Act strengthens the Coast Guard as a military service and branch of the Armed Forces in the Department of Homeland Security by providing organizational flexibility for the Coast Guard and allowing for improvements to its military housing. Additionally, the Act materially enhances the marine safety and maritime security missions of the Coast Guard, and it includes language to implement the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, 2001. Section 818 of the Act requires the Comptroller General to determine whether it is feasible to deliver securely a transportation security card to an approved applicant's place of residence. If such a determination is made, the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) would be required to implement a process that allows for such delivery. This provision would impermissibly vest authority in the Comptroller General, a congressional officer, to bind the Secretary in the performance of an Executive function. Therefore, the S