[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
[October 18, 2005]
[Pages 1563-1564]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Signing the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations 
Act, 2006
October 18, 2005

    Today, I have signed into law H.R. 2360, the ``Department of 
Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006.'' The Act provides funds to 
protect the United States against terrorism, assist those adversely 
affected by natural disasters such as hurricanes, and carry out other 
departmental functions such as securing our Nation's borders and 
enforcing our immigration laws.
    The executive branch shall construe as calling solely for 
notification the provisions of the Act that purport to require 
congressional committee approval for the execution of a law. Any other 
construction would be inconsistent with the principles enunciated by the 
Supreme Court of the United States in INS v. Chadha. These provisions 
include: ``United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator 
Technology;'' ``Automation Modernization, Customs and Border 
Protection;'' ``Air and Marine Interdiction, Operations, Maintenance, 
and Procurement, Customs and Border Protection;'' ``Automation 
Modernization, Immigration and Customs Enforcement;'' ``Salaries and 
Expenses, United States Secret Service;'' ``Research, Development, 
Acquisition, and Operations, Science and Technology for the Domestic 
Nuclear Detection Office;'' and sections 504, 505, 509, 511, 526, and 
538.
    Under the heading ``Customs and Border Protection,'' the Act 
purports to require the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to 
relocate its tactical checkpoints in the Tucson, Arizona, sector at 
least once every 7 days. Decisions on deployment and redeployment of law 
enforcement officers in the execution of the laws are a part of the 
executive power vested in the President by Article II of the 
Constitution. Accordingly, the executive branch shall construe the 
relocation provision as advisory rather than mandatory.
    Section 516 of the Act purports to direct the conduct of security 
and suitability investigations. To the extent that section 516 relates 
to access to classified national security information, the executive 
branch shall construe this provision in a manner consistent with the 
President's exclusive constitutional authority, as head of the unitary 
executive branch and as Commander in Chief, to classify and control 
access to national security information and to determine whether an 
individual is suitable to occupy a position in the executive branch with 
access to such information.
    To the extent that section 518 of the Act purports to allow an agent 
of the legislative branch to prevent implementation of the law unless 
the legislative agent reports to the Congress that the executive branch 
has met certain conditions, the executive branch shall construe such 
section as advisory, in accordance with the constitutional principles 
enumerated in the Chadha decision.
    As is consistent with the text of the Act, the executive branch 
shall construe section 521 as relating to the integrity and supervision 
of the United States Secret Service only within the Department of 
Homeland Security. The executive branch therefore shall construe section 
521 to neither affect the functions and supervision of personnel of the 
Secret Service assigned or detailed to duty outside the Department of 
Homeland Security, nor limit participation by the Secret Service in 
cooperative command and other arrangements with other governmental 
entities for the conduct of particular operations.
    Section 527 refers to joint explanatory statements of managers 
accompanying conference reports on specified acts. Such statements do 
not satisfy the constitutional requirements of bicameral approval and

[[Page 1564]]

presentment to the President needed to give them the force of law.
    The executive branch shall construe section 529 of the Act, relating 
to privacy officer reports, in a manner consistent with the President's 
constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch.

                                                          George W. Bush

 The White House,

 October 18, 2005.

Note: H.R. 2360, approved October 18, was assigned Public Law No. 109-
90.