[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 52 (Monday, December 27, 2004)]
[Pages 3012-3013]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2005

December 23, 2004

    Today, I have signed into law H.R. 4548, the ``Intelligence 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005.'' The Act authorizes 
appropriations to fund United States intelligence activities, including 
activities essential to success in the war on terror.
    The executive branch shall construe provisions in the Act, including 
sections 105, 107, and 305, that mandate submission of information to 
the Congress, in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional 
authority to supervise the unitary executive branch and to withhold 
information that could impair foreign relations, national security, the 
deliberative processes of the Executive, or the performance of the 
Executive's constitutional duties.
    Section 502 of the Act purports to place restrictions on use of the 
U.S. Armed Forces and other personnel in certain operations. The 
executive branch shall construe the restrictions in that section as 
advisory in nature, so that the provisions are consistent with the 
President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief, including 
for the conduct of intelligence operations, and to supervise the unitary 
executive branch.
    To the extent that provisions of the Act, such as sections 614 and 
615, purport to require or regulate submission by executive branch 
officials of legislative recommendations to the Congress, the executive 
branch shall construe such provisions in a manner consistent with the 
President's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive 
branch and to submit for congressional consideration such measures as 
the President judges necessary and expedient.
    Section 105 of the Act incorporates by reference certain 
requirements set forth in the joint explanatory statement of the House-
Senate committee of conference or in a classified annex. The executive 
branch continues to discourage the practice of enacting secret laws and 
encourages instead appropriate non-binding uses of classified schedules 
of authorizations, classified annexes to committee reports, and joint 
statements of managers that accompany the final legislation.

                                                George W. Bush

 The White House,
 December 23, 2004.

Note: At the time of publication, H.R. 4548, approved December 23, had 
not been received by the Office of the Federal Register for assignment 
of a Public Law number. An original was not available for verification 
of the content of this statement.

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