With the unanimous votes of both chambers of Congress, the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act reached President Bush’s desk and was signed into law this week. Not surprisingly, the final document wound up with a signing statement attached to it:
…in which he said he was reserving the authority to overrule state and local divestment decisions if they conflicted with foreign policy. The statement said the measure “risks being interpreted as insulating” state and local divestment actions from federal oversight.
I realize the Executive Branch is often dealing with complex laws, but worrying over “insulating” legislative action, particularly with regards to such a minor proposal, is a rather blatant nod of contrition to the fact that we enjoy being stuck in a policy quagmire when it comes to dealing with acts of genocide.