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President Bush has long opposed singling out oil and gas companies for higher taxes. But he is poised to sign a bill that will do just that. The massive financial bailout package approved by the House today — supported by the administration and now heading for the president's desk — blocks oil and gas companies from enjoying nearly $5 billion in anticipated tax cuts, while raising nearly $4 billion more in new taxes to help fund tax breaks for renewable energy. The legislation freezes the tax deduction oil and gas companies receive for their domestic manufacturing operations at 6 percent,...

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President George W. Bush on Friday signed a mammoth economic rescue package aimed at saving troubled US banks and easing a credit crunch that he warned could spell disaster for the US public. After campaigning for the bailout for two weeks and courting reluctant lawmakers in person and by telephone, Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 before leaving Washington for the weekend.

President Bush signed legislation to re-authorize PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). The measure, which was signed in a formal signing ceremony earlier today in Washington, increases funding for the successful global AIDS program from $15 billion up to $48 billion over the next five years. As a result, PEPFAR, which is likely to be among the President's most successful and lasting legacies, will save five to seven million lives over the next five years. "Passage of this historic legislation is a crucial turning point in the battle to control AIDS around the world," said Michael Weinstein, President,...

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush early Wednesday signed into law the government's most aggressive effort to combat the country's housing crisis, ending months of sometimes bitter fighting over the best way to curb foreclosures and calm financial markets. The White House announced in a statement that Mr. Bush has signed the sweeping housing package, making it law with none of the pomp customary for significant legislation. Spokesman Tony Fratto said the bill was signed in the Oval Office at 7 a.m. EDT as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and five of the administration's top economic officials looked on.

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed into law today legislation that will make it harder for illegal aliens living in the state to receive benefits and harder to find jobs. The new legislations requires all public employers to use the E-Verify system to verify the legality of a potential employee and requires and individual to prove their citizenship status before receiving state benefits such as food stamps and housing. The bill also punishes those localities that adopt policies to not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Missouri joins Arizona, Oklahoma, and Georgia in instituting state-wide anti-illegal immigration laws. So far, the laws...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush signed a law on Thursday overhauling the rules for eavesdropping on terrorism suspects but immediately met a civil liberties challenge calling it a threat to Americans' privacy. "This law will protect the liberties of our citizens while maintaining the vital flow of intelligence," Bush said at a White House ceremony to mark a rare legislative victory for the president during his last year in office. The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in Manhattan federal court as Bush signed the measure and called for the law to be voided as a violation of...

Our president was busy today with public events. President Bush signed H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, President Bush Signs H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 President Bush marked this the Day of Solidarity with the Cuban people. President Bush Discusses Cuba, Marks Day of Solidarity He met with the Maronite Patriarch of Lebanon Nasrallah Sfeir in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, President Bush met with Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander George Lisicki in the Oval Office. Vice President Dick Cheney delivered the main address during U.S. Coast...

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush on Monday signed a bill aimed at giving the public and the media greater access to information about what the government is doing. The new law toughens the Freedom of Information Act, the first such makeover to the signature public-access law in a decade. It amounts to a congressional pushback against the Bush administration's movement to greater secrecy since the terrorist attacks of 2001. Bush signed the bill without comment in one of his final decisions of the year. The legislation creates a system for the media and public to track the status of their...

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush on Wednesday signed a $555 billion bill that funds the Iraq war well into next year and keeps government agencies running through next September. Bush's signature on the massive spending bill capped a long-running battle with the Democratic-run Congress as he left boarded Air Force One to fly from his Maryland mountaintop retreat and flew to his Texas ranch here to see in the new year. Bush had deep reservations about special "earmark" spending in the bill, but signed it into law nevertheless. "The omnibus (bill) funds the government at responsible levels that the president...

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Welcome to the White House. I'm pleased to sign a bill that will help homeowners who are struggling with rising mortgage payments. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 will protect families from higher taxes when they refinance their homes. It will help hardworking Americans take steps to avoid foreclosure during a period of uncertainty in the housing market. I want to thank members of Congress for getting this bill passed. I appreciate it very much. It's been a joy working with you... **snip** ...The bill I sign today will help this...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress, prodded by the deadliest shooting rampage in modern American history, passed legislation on Wednesday designed to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. Without objection, the Senate and House of Representatives approved the measure, which would bolster background checks for gun buyers, and sent it to President George W. Bush to sign.

WASHINGTON - President Bush signed into law Wednesday legislation that will bring more fuel-efficient vehicles into auto showrooms and require wider use of ethanol, calling it "a major step" toward energy independence and easing global warming. The legislation signed by Bush at a ceremony at the Energy Department requires automakers to increase fuel efficiency by 40 percent to an industry average 35 miles per gallon by 2020. It also ramps up production of ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022.

This morning President Bush called newly elected Republican congressmen Rob Wittman of Virginia and Bob Latta of Ohio to congratulate them on their strong victories in yesterday’s special elections. This afternoon, the president awarded the Public Safety Officer Medal of Honor to three police officers and a firefighter in the Oval Office. “They will tell you they were just doing their job; I'm telling you they did their job with extraordinary courage” (Transcript) And signed the "Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007" into law. (Transcript) Later, the president attended a farewell ceremony for Undersecretary of State Karen...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- President Bush on Wednesday signed into law a five-year renewal of Head Start, the federal preschool program for poor children. The latest update to Head Start, which began in 1965, aims to open the program to more children and ensure that teachers are better-qualified. Congress overwhelmingly approved the legislation last month, and Bush signed it despite misgivings about aspects of the bill. Bush praised the bill's push to increase competition among Head Start providers, raise learning standards and coordinate early childhood education.

(AP) WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Saturday signed a bill to prevent a government shutdown, but not without complaint. Bush lambasted the Democrats who control Congress for sending him the stopgap measure while they continue to work on more than a dozen spending bills funding the day-to-day operations of 15 Cabinet departments. "Congress failed in its most basic responsibility," the president said in his weekly radio address. The bills are tied up because Democrats want to add $23 billion for domestic programs to Bush's $933 billion request for the approximately one-third of the federal budget funded by the yearly spending...

President Bush signed legislation Thursday aimed at making a college education more affordable to students by slashing $20 billion in subsidies to student lenders, threatening what could be the largest private equity takeover of a U.S. financial services company. Coming after months of scandals involving kickback schemes and conflicts of interest among lenders and college officials, the legislation was expected to shake up the $85-billion student loan industry, with some turmoil already evident.

Today the President met with 2007 National Big Brother of the Year in the Oval Office The President also signed H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building The President also met with Acting FAA Administrator Bobby Sturgell, and Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters in the Oval Office. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura at the State Department Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also spoke at the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change at the State Department Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to...

Today I signed into law S. 1, the "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007." This bill represents some progress towards ethics, lobbying, and earmark reform, all of which I strongly support. Strengthening the ethical standards that govern lobbying activities and beginning to address meaningful earmark reform are necessary steps to provide the public with a more transparent lawmaking process. The essence of successful ethics reform is not laws and restrictions, but full disclosure. The legislation includes minimal improvements in the area of disclosure, both for lobbying and earmarks. But there is still more to be done -- and...

SUGAR LAND — Student Natasha Gualy was all smiles Tuesday knowing that when she shares her Christian faith at school, she will not be reprimanded or humiliated. Gov. Rick Perry conducted a ceremonial signing of House Bill 3678 aimed at reaffirming students' rights to express religious viewpoints. Perry officially signed the bill, also known as the Religious Viewpoints Anti-Discrimination Act, in June. Surrounded by schoolchildren at the Clements High School library, Perry signed the bill sponsored by state Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land. The bill does not create a new law but rather provides a model policy that school districts...

The President held a press conference in the Press Briefing Room today then signed H.R. 2272, The America Competes Act Bill after which he departed to Maine where he will spend the week at the family home attending a wedding and meeting with the French President. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Lebanon's Charge d'Affaires Antoine Chedi at the State Department. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

CAMP DAVID, Md. - President Bush on Sunday signed into law an expansion of the government's power to eavesdrop on foreign terror suspects without the need for warrants. The law, approved by the Senate and the House just before Congress adjourned for its summer break, was deemed a priority by Bush and his chief intelligence officials. Bush signed the bill into law on Sunday afternoon at his retreat at Camp David, Md. "When our intelligence professionals have the legal tools to gather information about the intentions of our enemies, America is safer," Bush said. "And when these same legal tools...

President Bush signed the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 in the Oval Office this morning. The president, along with Vice President Cheney and other members of his administration, then met with the counter-terrorism team at the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington. Afterwards, the president made a statement to the press, saying he wants the Democrats in Congress to stop playing politics with our national defense and send him an intelligence bill that he can sign, forcing Congress to stay in session through the August break if necessary. The president does have that authority. (Transcript) First Lady Laura Bush...

President Bush signed legislation Friday that intensifies the anti-terrorism effort at home, shifting money to high-risk states and cities and expanding scrutiny of air and sea cargo. The bill elevates the importance of risk factors in determining which states and cities get federal security funds. That would mean more money for such cities as New York and Washington. It also puts money into a new program to ensure that security officials at every level can communicate with each other. It requires screening of all cargo on passenger planes within three years and sets a five-year goal of scanning all container...

SACRAMENTO — A tax-exempt group set up to create jobs is being used by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to bankroll a pair of splashy bill-signing events designed to attract publicity as he runs for reelection. Unlike contributions to Schwarzenegger's campaign account, donations to the nonprofit are not subject to caps or disclosure requirements. Schwarzenegger this week staged carefully choreographed ceremonies against the picturesque backdrops of Malibu and San Francisco Bay's Treasure Island, signing legislation to curb emissions that contribute to global warming. The events were meant to showcase the governor's environmental credentials at a time when he wants to maximize his...

Governor signs SB 1441. A great Victory for the Gay Lobby. by Mike Spence - Los Angeles County (print) 8-28-2006 5:16 pm The Governor signed AB 1441 minutes ago. SB 1441 extends so called anti-discrimination laws concerning sex, sexual orientation and one's perceptions about their sexual oreintation to ANY entity that receives any amount of state funding. Translation: Does your Christian school take any money for disabled kids? Does your Religious College takes students on Cal-Grants? Any relgious instituition that provides CALWORKS childcare or any service now must protect the jobs of any kind of sexual choice you can think...

President Bush Approves Over the Counter Early Abortion Pill, Pro-Life Base Decries MoveBy John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, August 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - For his pro-life supporter base, President George W. Bush stepped into one of the biggest political landmines of his Presidential career today with his approval of over the counter status for the abortion-causing morning after pill Plan B. A press release by Human Life International underscored the seriousness of the move as it was titled, "President Bush Files for Divorce with Catholic Base." Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International commented, "President Bush's implied support for the...

The President signed a Pension Reform Bill today and then he and the First Lady left the White House for Camp David for the weekend where the President will meet with members of his economic team Yesterday the Vice President attended 2 fund raisers and Mrs Cheney spoke at the Aspen Institute Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

The President returned to White House (along with the dogs) on Sunday after 10 days based in Crawford. Today he and the Vice President had meetings at the Department of Defense and the State Department. The First Lady attended a GOP Fund Raiser for Congressional candidate state Sen. Peter Roskam in in Addison, Ill The President also signed H.R. 5683, to preserve the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, Calif Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

U.S. govt gets giant cross in San Diego By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer 7 minutes ago A giant cross in San Diego that's been contested for 17 years by an atheist became the property of the federal government Monday with President Bush's signature. Supporters hope the legislation transferring the 29-foot cross and war memorial it's a part of to the federal government will protect it for good. A series of court decisions have deemed the cross unconstitutional because it stands on public property. "Just because something may have a religious connotation doesn't mean you destroy it and tear it...

WASHINGTON – President Bush on Monday approved a plan to transfer San Diego's Mount Soledad cross to federal control in an effort to avoid its court-ordered removal. In an Oval office ceremony, the Republican president signed a bill by three San Diego-area congressmen that immediately transfers the memorial land to the U.S. Defense Department in an effort to avoid a court-ordered removal of the cross that has towered over La Jolla on-and-off for nearly a century. ....

Congressman Duncan Hunter and other local officials will be on hand for the President's signing of the bill to transfer the cross to the federal government. President Bush is scheduled to sign the bill into law transferring the Mt. Soledad Cross and property on which is sets to the federal government. The U.S. Senate and House have voted to approve the bill sponsored by Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter, Brian Bilbray and Darrell Issa that was approved by the U.S. House earlier. On hand for Monday's signing ceremony will be Congressman Hunter, along with the attorney for the city who has...

Less than a decade ago, Mr. Bush fought that exact part of the Voting Rights Act, with his appointed secretary of state, Antonio O. Garza Jr., calling the provisions a burdensome and unnecessary federal intrusion into Texas' affairs. "The Bush administration has really done a flip-flop on this," said Edward Blum, a senior fellow at the Center for Equal Opportunity who has studied Texas voting and the Voting Rights Act. "This is not where he was, and this is not the kind of philosophy that then-Governor Bush had when it comes to getting Texas out from under the thumb of...

The President spent part of the weekend at his ranch in Crawford returning to Washingotn on Sunday to met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal prior to Secretary Rice visit to the middle east. Today the President attended a naturalization ceremony at Walter Reed Medical Center. He also signed H.R. 42, Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005. Vice President Dick Cheney attended a fundraising luncheon for Arkansas Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson in Springdale, Ark Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visted Lebanon and Israel today. Enjoy your visit to Sanity...

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Louisiana Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco signed into law a ban on most abortions, which would be triggered if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 1973 ruling legalizing the procedure, a spokesman said on Saturday. The ban would apply to all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest, except when the mother's life is threatened. It is similar to a South Dakota law that has become the latest focus of the abortion battle. The South Dakota law was enacted partly to invite a court challenge in the hope a more conservative Supreme Court would overturn its...

With the sole survivor of the Sago mine disaster looking on, President Bush signed into law the first major overhaul of mine safety laws in three decades. "Only one man came out, and he's with us today," Bush said Thursday of Randal McCloy Jr., who is still recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning from the January accident that killed a dozen miners in West Virginia. McCloy received a standing ovation from those attending the White House ceremony. The new law, the first of its kind since 1977, requires miners to have two hours' worth of oxygen on hand while they work,...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- President Bush signed legislation Thursday that will cost broadcasters dearly when raunchy programming exceeds "the bounds of decency." At a signing ceremony for the new law increasing by tenfold the maximum fine for indecency, Bush said that it will force industry figures to "take seriously their duty to keep the public airwaves free of obscene, profane and indecent material." Accompanying the president at the ceremony was a crowd of lawmakers who worked to pass the bill in Congress. For raunchy talk or a racy show of skin, the Federal Communications Commission can now fine a broadcaster up...

<p>WASHINGTON - President Bush, marking Memorial Day with a speech paying tribute to fighting men and women lost in war, signed into law Monday a bill that keeps demonstrators from disrupting military funerals.</p>

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House. It's nice to see so many members of Congress at this end of Pennsylvania Avenue. (Laughter.) And you've come for a really good reason. This is a good day for American workers and families and businesses. You have passed a bill that will keep our taxes low and keep our economy growing. And I'm really pleased to be able to sign this vital piece of legislation. Thank you for your leadership. (Applause.) I'm glad you're here, and so is the Vice President. I'm proud...

President Bush signed a $70 billion tax-cut package, and honored the 2006 United States Winter Olympic and Paralympics Teams, both events being held on the South Lawn at the White House. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee. Some details here; note bias in article title. There are some late photos from last evening's dinner that the president and first lady hosted for Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, and his wife, Janette. Tony Snow's press briefing today (transcript and video). Welcome to Sanity Island!

WASHINGTON - After a long battle with Congress that went down to the wire, President Bush signed a renewal of the USA Patriot Act on Thursday, a day before 16 major provisions of the old law expire. Bush said the Patriot Act is vital to win the war on terror and protect Americans. He recalled the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and said the country is still at war. "We saw the terrorists' destructive vision for us when they killed nearly 3,000 men, women and children," Bush said. "In the face of this ruthless threat, our nation has made...

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds today signed into law a highly restrictive anti-abortion bill aimed ultimately at overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. The legislation, passed last month by state lawmakers, bans abortion in nearly every case and punishes doctors who perform one with a $5,000 fine and five years in prison. The bill allows abortion only in the event a mother's life is in danger, making no exception for rape or incest. South Dakota Planned Parenthood, which operates the state's sole abortion clinic, has said it will challenge the law. Rounds said in a written statement he expects...

President's Statement on Signing of H.R. 2863, the "Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006" Today, I have signed into law H.R. 2863, the "Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006." The Act provides resources needed to fight the war on terror, help citizens of the Gulf States recover from devastating hurricanes, and protect Americans from a potential influenza pandemic. Sections 8007, 8011, and 8093 of the Act prohibit the use of funds to initiate a...

WASHINGTON — President Bush signed into law last week a provision that eliminates funeral honors and burial benefits for a veteran convicted of state or federal crimes carrying any life sentence. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, closed a loophole in the defense authorization bill. "This law honors our military heroes, and I am so proud to have fought for its passage," Mikulski said in a written statement. "This continues what has been a daily fight for more than 18 years to safeguard vital veterans' services and benefits." The passage was a small...

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (KUNA) -- US President George Bush signed into effect the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on Wednesday, making it the first FTA between the United States and a Gulf Country. - According to US officials, the agreement will result in the creation of new jobs for Bahrainis and will increase US exports of aircraft machinery, vehicles, pharmaceutical and agricultural goods. As part of the FTA, Bahrain has agreed to open its market wider than any other US-FTA partner by lifting 100 percent of duties on all US industrial and consumer goods and on over 80 percent of...

WASHINGTON - President Bush agreed with great fanfare last month to accept a ban on torture, but he later quietly reserved the right to ignore it, even as he signed it into law. Acting from the seclusion of his Texas ranch at the start of New Year's weekend, Bush said he would interpret the new law in keeping with his expansive view of presidential power. He did it by issuing a bill-signing statement -- a little-noticed device that has become a favorite tool of presidential power in the Bush White House. In fact, Bush has used signing statements to reject,...

President Bush on Thursday signed into law federal legislation inspired by the murder of a Mountlake Terrace mail-order bride. The law stiffens regulations on mail-order brides and provides foreign-born fiances with additional information when American men go through international marriage brokers to find spouses. The 2000 murder of Anastasia King, a native of Kyrgyzstan, partly prompted the legislation. She was married to Indle King Jr. for about two years before her death. King and a roommate were convicted of her murder. U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and Sen. Maria Cantwell, both D-Wash., introduced bills in 2003 to tighten controls on the...

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Friday signed legislation extending key provisions of the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act until February 3, despite earlier objecting to anything short of a permanent renewal. He also signed a $453.3 billion defense spending bill that included a measure banning cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners, the White House said.Bush had initially threatened to veto legislation that contained that provision, but backed off after congressional votes showed overwhelming support for the amendment pushed by Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who was a former prisoner of war in the Vietnam conflict.On the...

THE DRUDGE REPORT has uncovered a photograph of President Bush signing the Patriot Act in the East Room of the White House on October 26, 2001. And standing over the President’s shoulder with a smile on his face is Democratic Senate Minority Harry Reid (D-NV)! Reid is currently leading efforts in the Senate to block the renewal of the Patriot Act. After Reid successfully prevented the Patriot Act’s renewal late last week the Senator attended a Democrat political rally and proudly declared, “We killed the Patriot Act.” One Republican strategist familiar with the photo said, “Democrats think they can...

President Bush signed H.R. 2520, the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005, to expand federal support of [I assume this means: existing lines of] embryonic stem cell research. Vice President and Mrs. Cheney, on a multi-purpose visit in Pakistan, cut short their trip so the VP could cast a tie-breaking Senate vote on deficit reduction if necessary. Welcome to Sanity Island!

President Signs H.R. 4145 to Place Statue of Rosa Parks in U.S. Capitol Room 350 Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building 10:33 A.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Welcome. Please be seated. Thank you all for being here. Laura and I thank you for joining us on this special day. Fifty years ago an African American woman named Rosa Parks helped set in motion a national movement for equality and freedom when she refused a bus driver's order to give her seat to a white man. The bill I'm about to sign calls for a statue of Rosa Parks to be placed...