Signing a bill with an autopen causes debate

Obama recently finalized a controversial bill. The bill renewed certain things of the Patriot Act which were going to end. It went to the president for approval, though Obama is currently visiting Europe. The president’s signature is creating controversy, as he authorized an autopen signature, which is a machine that produces an exact copy of a persons’ signature.

Government surveillance allowed again

Unless a new bill was created and passed by Congress and signed by the president, some Patriot Act provisions would have expired. The Christian Science Monitor states that even though the surveillance procedures that are controversial were about to expire, the president signed the bill anyway to keep them going. The government can still use the internet, wiretaps and business records whenever they want without permission. Senator Rand Paul did rally against the bill though, without any luck. CNN states that the president used a robotic pen. This was also very controversial.

How the autopen works

As the president is currently in France, and the signature was needed urgently, the document had to be finalized using an autopen. An autopen is a mechanical machine that reproduces a person’s signature. The difference between an autopen and genuine signature is almost extremely hard to tell. The machines, according to MSNBC, vary in complexity from simply tracing a template to far more mechanically complex machines. In the U.S., there are only two companies that sell the machines. One of the owners, Bob Olding, was interviewed briefly. ABC spoke with Damillic Corp., owner Olding who said the technology hasn’t changed much since the 1930s when it came out. He also stresses that Damillic goes out of its way to properly vet its consumers and make sure that his products are being used ethically.

Legality problems

The Constitution says the president has to sign a bill; the text reads “he shall sign it.” As long as a signature is directed to be attached to a document, it is valid, according to the Department of Justice. The Justice Department at first looked to the use of an autopen for precisely this reason in 2005 and informed then President Bush that as long as he indicated his consent to the signature, an auto signature was legally valid. V.P. Quayle admits that he used an autopen in 1992 while Donald Rumsfeld used one in 2004. This was for the letters he sent to families of troops killed. Thomas Jefferson built a signature and letter duplication machine, or polygraph, in the 19th century. Government officials, astronauts and business executives all have used autopens in the past.

Articles cited

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