JOPLIN, MO — President Bush is over stepping his bounds. This week, a Senate Judiciary Committee opened hearings on the president’s use of bill signing statements, which allow the administration to ‘revise, interpret or disregard a measure on national security and constitutional grounds.’ According to Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chair of the special committee, Bush – who has yet to veto a piece of legislation in his six years in office – has issued a signing statement with 750 pieces of legislation. The White House does not dispute this number. Bush has issued these statements on high-profile pieces of legislation such as a ban on the torture of detainees and the renewal of the Patriot Act. ‘It’s a challenge to the plain language of the Constitution,’ Specter told The Associated Press. ‘I’m interested to hear from the administration just what research they’ve done to lead them to the conclusion that they can cherry-pick.’ We agree with Specter. Bush is challenging the separation of powers by extending his reach beyond the executive branch and into the judiciary and legislative arms of our government. We applaud the committee for looking into the overuse of this once […]