What Is Statement Signing?

Statement signing is the term referring to a president signing a bill into law.

Statement signing, also called signing statement, is when The President of the United States signs a bill into legislation and writes a comment regarding it. A president does this when he feels that he does not agree with the entire bill being passed.

Function

A statement signing is simply a written comment made by a president. When a president signs a bill into legislation, he has the option of performing a "signing statement."

Reasons

If, at the time of signing, the president feels strongly about or against part of a bill, the president elects to write a comment regarding the bill. This happens often with controversial topics or when the president feels that some part of the bill is unconstitutional.

Considerations

What this typically means is that the president is documenting the part of the legislation he disagrees with. This often means that the president tends to ignore a specific part of the bill or implement only the part of the bill he feels is constitutional.

Protection

A president decides to do this often times to let the public know his view on the subject. It also protects him by signing a statement announcing his feelings on a particular topic.

References

• The American Presidency Project: What is Signing Statement?
• Justice: The Legal Significance of Presidential Signing Statements