American Bar Association

ABA Condemns Bush 800+ Signing Statements Nullifying Oversight

| Importance: 8/10

The American Bar Association Task Force condemned President Bush’s unprecedented use of signing statements to nullify congressional oversight, issuing more than 800 constitutional challenges by 2006 versus fewer than 600 by all previous presidents combined. Bush produced 150 signing statements …

George W. Bush American Bar Association Dick Cheney David Addington John Yoo signing-statements executive-power constitutional-crisis unitary-executive aba
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Bricker Amendment Fails by One Vote, Conservative Attempt to Limit Treaty Power Defeated

| Importance: 6/10

On February 26, 1954, the United States Senate rejected the Bricker Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have severely limited the President’s treaty-making power. The amendment, backed by conservative Republicans and corporate groups including the American Bar Association …

John Bricker Dwight D. Eisenhower American Bar Association U.S. Senate American Medical Association +1 more isolationism congressional-action constitutional-amendment cold-war corporate-interests
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Administrative Procedure Act Codifies Regulatory Process, Creates Industry Capture Opportunities

| Importance: 8/10

Congress passes the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) on June 11, 1946, establishing uniform procedures for federal agency rulemaking and adjudication. While ostensibly designed to ensure fairness and public participation, the APA creates structural opportunities for well-resourced interests to …

Congress Harry Truman American Bar Association Business interests Federal agencies regulatory-capture administrative-law corporate-influence deregulation-framework institutional-design
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