ADMINISTRATION -- BUSH ISSUES TWO NEW SIGNING STATEMENTS: The New York Times reports today that President Bush issued signing statements on Tuesday asserting "that he had the executive power to bypass several parts of two bills: a military authorization act and a measure giving inspectors general greater independence from White House control." In the authorization bill, Bush objected to being required to enter "negotiations for an agreement by which Iraq would share some of the costs of the American military operations there" and a prohibition on the use of U.S. funds "being used 'to exercise United States control of the oil resources of Iraq.'" President Bush has challenged over 1,100 sections of laws during his two terms, while "all previous presidents combined challenged about 600 sections of bills." Prominent conservatives, including Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), have repeatedly introduced legislation to ban the use of signing statements. The American Bar Associations calls signing statements "contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers." A recent House Armed Services Committee report found that Bush's justifications for his signing statements are often "broad and unsubstantiated."

CONGRESS -- BIPARTISAN HOUSE REPORT FINDS BUSH MADE 'INAPPROPRIATE' USE OF EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE: Yesterday, the House Oversight Committee released a bipartisan report finding that President Bush made a "legally unprecedented and an inappropriate use of executive privilege" when the administration withheld Patrick Fitzgerald's interview with Vice President Cheney on the CIA leak scandal. Attorney General Michael Mukasey had previously told the committee "that Bush's refusal to release the Cheney interview was within the president's authority, under executive privilege, to keep his discussions with advisers private." But the report, which was signed by Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and ranking Republican Tom Davis (R-VA), argued that "there is no reason to believe that the special counsel's interview with the vice president" relates to "presidential decision-making about foreign policy or national security." White House spokesman Tony Fratto dismissed the report as a "campaign attack." The committee also released a separate report criticizing Bush's assertion of executive privilege regarding his recent climate change and Clean Air Act decisions, saying that they were "wrong and an abuse of the privilege."