Confirming a bill with an autopen brings about controversy

The President recently restarted certain parts of the contentious Patriot Act. Congress ended up passing the bill recently, though the President is really visiting Europe. The president’s signature is creating debate, as he authorized an autopen signature, which is a mechanical device that produces an exact copy of a persons’ signature.

Still seeing government surveillance happening

Unless a new bill was created and passed by Congress and finalized by the president, some Patriot Act provisions would have expired. Three provisions of the domestic security laws that allow for highly controversial surveillance procedures would have expired, according to the Christian Science Monitor, but Obama finalized the bill at the last moment. Regardless of the stern objections and try to rally opposition by Senator Rand Paul, the government is still allowed to use roving wiretaps, pull business records and keep tabs on “lone wolves” of interest without a warrant. However, according to CNN, brouhaha in Congress has started as the president used a robotic pen.

Refill the ink if you would like to live

The signature was needed quickly on the document in the president was in France. He used an autopen to sign it. The autopen is a machine that can be used. A person’s signature can be reproduced with it. It is almost extremely hard to tell the difference between the signatures. It might as well have been the same. Some of the machines are extremely complex. Some aren’t complex at all though, states MSNBC. Several websites are reproducing an interview with Bob Olding who’s the owner of one of the two corporations that exists in the U.S. that makes the machines. Olding, owner of Damillic Corp., told ABC that the autopens his business sells use technology that has barely changed since the 1930s. He makes sure the products are getting used ethically by Damillic consumers as part of company policy.

Legality problems

The Constitution claims the president has to sign a bill; the text reads “he shall sign it.” The Department of Justice states a signature is valid if it is directed to be attached to a document. As long as a president gives his consent of signature, it is legal and valid to auto sign something. This was the response the Justice Department had in 2005 when an autopen for President Bush was being looked into. Families of troops killed in 2004 got letters with signatures while in Donald Rumsfeld that came while in an autopen, while it was also used in 1992 by V.P. Quayle. The signature and letter duplication machine was built in the 19th century. Thomas Jefferson was responsible for this. Autopens are not that uncommon. They were used in the past by astronauts, business executives and government officials.

Information from

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0527/Patriot-Act-three-controversial-provisions-that-Congress-voted-to-keep

CNN

whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/27/rise-of-the-machines-autopen-puts-bill-into-law/?hpt=T2

MSNBC

firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/27/6731197-the-great-presidential-autopen-hullabaloo

ABC

blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/robama-is-it-ok-for-a-president-to-autopen-a-bill-into-law.html

Damillic Inc

realsig.com/index.htm